The Whirlpool Son
by GNFreak
Summary: AU. Slow build. Smart Tsuna. FemNaru. His biological mother loved his brother more than him but that was okay for Tsuna. It was okay because she stopped being his mother twelve years ago when his mum picked him up from the park and decided to take him in as her own. He was going to show the Mafia world what the son of Uzumaki Naru can do.
1. Chapter 1

When Naru was seventeen she made one of the biggest decision a person could make.

She made this decision after they won the war. As soon as she recovered from the war and saw that everything was fine, she decided to take a break from being a kunoichi, from everything that had to do with Elemental Nations. She wanted to see the world outside of the Elemental Nations. A world she only heard stories from Jiraiya, who once told her that one of his fondest memories were there. He always spoke of how the countries there were similar to the Elemental Nations but at the same time very different from their home. She just wanted a break from fighting.

So she left with a backpack filled with clothes and her emergency ramen stash. The journey was only meant for her. She didn't ask anyone to join her but somehow Sasuke heard about her journey and decided to come along with her. When she asked him why, he claimed he was doing the same thing anyway but Naru had her suspicions about it. Still she didn't protest about him joining her in her journey. She wasn't the only one who needed a break from all of this.

The two of them needed a break from their responsibilities, from the memories that haunted them in the village.

As soon as they stepped out of the veil hidden between the Elemental Nations and the other countries, Naru had screeched at the sight of tall skyscrapers and gulped at the sight of the machines, which she had later learnt was cars. Sasuke had glared at her, told her she needed to stop acting like a girl at the sight of something unfamiliar. The hypocrite. The bastard looked pale as a ghost at the sight of the car and scowled whenever some kids their age asked them if they were doing some cosplay.

Till this day, Naru still didn't understand what cosplay was.

They spent a month in Tokyo, one beautiful month filled with no stares from people, except the occasional flutter of eyelashes at Sasuke's direction or a glare at her direction from some high school girls that stalked Sasuke at their favourite cafe. They had gone to festivals, where Naru brought more stuff than she needed and bought a beautiful kimono for a cheap price. It was orange too, which was a bonus! And it certainly didn't make her look less feminine despite what her bastard of a teammate claimed.

It was on their second last day in Tokyo, where Naru grabbed a map of the world and demanded for Sasuke to picked their next location. The bastard raised his eyebrow before picking a country that looked too much like a boot, which they later read was Italy. They had scratched their necks as they tried to find out how to get there before overhearing a couple about how they were going to be late for their flight to Italy.

With a little bit of gambling and stealing, they were able to get enough money for a plane ticket to Rome. There were problems of getting into the airplane with no passport but it was easily fixed with genjutsu. She wasn't proud they had to do these things but damn it, she wanted to see the world and staying in Japan wouldn't let her do that.

It was in Rome, Naru truly got a culture shock. The first thing she noticed about the country, there were no ramen for her to eat! Her wonderful, sweet, salty ramen had no stands for her to eat in! Sasuke smirked and told her maybe it was time she learnt not to eat ramen every single day. Her response to that? She punched him in the shoulder and silently mourned for the loss of her favourite food before deciding she hated the country.

That all changed when she met a man in a coffee shop. At first, there had been nothing striking about him except for the hat he wore and his curly sideburns that just defied logic like Kakashi-sensei's hair. The only thing that earned her attention was how his eyes were in some ways similar to Sasuke except more colder and harsher, telling her despite his charming smile he was dangerous man. So it surprised her how he asked if he could share her table with her. After blinking her eyes, she smiled and nodded.

The two of them talked about everything and nothing at the same time. He asked her where she was from; she lied and told him Japan. She asked him if his hair naturally defied gravity or if it took hours for him to make it like that. it turned out it was naturally like that. He never asked her about her job, only asking her harmless questions and giving her suggestive ideas. Normally, she would scowl and snapped at him but she wanted to have fun and flirted back at him. Her flirting only stopped when Sasuke came with a huge scowl on his face, telling her they needed to go. She protested and told him he could go while she stayed here. They argued for a good length of time and before Naru even realized it, the charming man had left.

She saw him again the next day and the day after that and before Naru even realized it, she was having a casual relationship with the man, who she later learnt on their third meeting was called Reborn. It was simply casual despite what Sasuke thought whenever he caught her eating dinner with the man. Reborn didn't do emotions, told her it wouldn't do well if she overthought their relationship. She grinned and told him she knew from the beginning before going on to tell him she was only here for two months, which wasn't a long time for them to date seriously and how she had someone else in her heart. He smirked and told her he hoped to see her again, kissing the palm of her hand.

Naru had flushed bright red at this, giving him a goofy smile while Sasuke glared at the man.

That was how her first relationship ended and then before Naru knew it, they were in England where she found learning the language was slightly easier than learning Italian. The country wasn't like the others but Naru found her and Sasuke staying there for a good six months there, where she worked in a café and Sasuke as a translator. She didn't want to remember how she and Sasuke ended up in those jobs.

After England, they went to China, where Sasuke had somehow ended up working for the Triads, which was similar to the Yakuza in Japan and Elemental Nations. It took them nearly a year for them to find a way to get Sasuke out of it but it was only when Naru had beaten up their leader, used Kurama's chakra and killed nearly their whole gang that they got out. She didn't know why they didn't think of it earlier but it was after that event, they decided to go back to Japan.

It was her turn to pick where to go but this time specifically in Japan.

With her eyes closed and a kunai at hand, she threw it at the map. When she heard the sound of the kunai slamming against the wood, Naru opened her eyes and looked down at the map before glancing at Sasuke. The kunai had stabbed a small town called Namimori. A town she didn't know where it was but hoped and prayed was better than this city in China.

It was there where the whole story started.

The town was wonderful compared to Rome and Beijing, filled with so much more ramen stands and had less air pollution that Naru felt like she could properly breathed in this town. She decided right then and there, this place would be her last destination before going back home. When they entered the motel, Naru had nearly fainted when she saw it was October 3rd. She was nearly nineteen now. It had been nearly two years since she and Sasuke left Konoha yet to Naru, it felt like it had only been a week since they left.

Time really had flied.

She grinned.

She couldn't wait to tell Hinata and the others about her journey over there.

* * *

It was on her third day in Namimori that her whole life changed. It was on her third day there, she found herself having to be responsible for once. It was on that day she found herself gaining a new role. Till now, despite everything that passed she still wondered what possessed her to do what she did but Naru didn't regret what she did. She didn't regret anything except for the fact she knew one day what she did might haunt her and Sasuke for the rest of their lives.

It all started after her argument with Sasuke. She didn't remember what they were arguing about but it must have been something stupid since all their arguments always seemed stupid. All she remembered about the argument was that she punched Sasuke in the face, chewing on her bottom lip as she held back the urge to beat him up for what he said to her. She remembered calling him bastard, telling him she was going to be in the park where she could hopefully calm down. He had simply scowled, rubbed his cheek and watched her leave.

The bastard was an idiot was Naru's only thought as she walked towards the park's playground. He always insulted her, complained about her behaviour and always found just new ways to get under her skin. She wondered why she even bothered to stick by him when he treated her like this. The bastard almost always tried to ruin any dates she had, the only exception being the ones she had with Reborn and that was only because Reborn had given a 'man' to 'man' talk about something. A talk till this day Sasuke wouldn't even tell her what it was about.

She didn't know why Sasuke always had to be so secretive about things or why he always got annoyed when some cute boy asked her out. It wasn't like the two of them were dating or anything. Hell, the guys that asked her out weren't even her type. She liked strong guys who were charming but secretive…guys like Reborn.

Still, it didn't give him the right to complain.

"It isn't even my fault!" she kicked a stone towards the pond. "It isn't like I asked boys out! Besides so what if they asked me out? It isn't like I get guys asking me out in Konoha! Unlike the bastard who got girls chasing him there, no guy there ever asked me out! You don't see me trying to stop any girl who tries to ask him out!"

She stopped her ranting when she caught sight of a toddler with spikey brown-hair and wide brown eyes. Normally, a kid wouldn't grab her attention but there was something about this little boy that just grabbed her attention. She glanced around, stopping when she noticed a brown-haired woman taking a blond-haired toddler, who must be the boy's twin brother (they had the same hairstyle that it was impossible for them not to be twins), to the swings.

Why wasn't the woman taking the other boy with her?

Scowling, Naru stared at the toddler and then to the smiling face of the mother and twin brother. What type of mother left her son alone? Didn't she know how lonely the boy would be? Didn't she think the little boy also wanted to play too? What was so special about that kid that she had to forget about the other? She hated woman who would just forget about their other child in favour of another. It just reminded her of the times she had to listen to stories in the orphanage about how some of the kids had ended up there because their parents _forgot_ about them.

It just made her sick.

She shook her head and walked towards the toddler, glancing in the direction of his mother and brother with hope the mother would stop her. Surely, a mother would pay attention to at least see any signs of danger right? She couldn't be so careless as not to think of her other son. Even the most careless mothers she saw in Konoha, had made sure their kids avoided her.

It seemed like her hopes were in vain.

"Do you want to play in the swings like your brother?" She asked, placing her hand on his hair that was so soft that Naru just wanted to squeeze him tight.

"Swing?" He asked with eyes filled with so much hope that her heart contracted with so much pain. This boy in front of her had a mother, had a family that was supposed to love him. He shouldn't be giving her such eyes! He shouldn't even be shocked at her question! What kind of mother did he have to make him act like this?

She pushed those thoughts away and nodded. "I'll push you if you want!" she grinned widely at the toddler, "I'll push you as high as you want! I will make you go so high that you might even touch the sky!"

"The sky?" The toddler gazed up at the sky and then to her before giving her a smile so wide that it made her heart swell and all she wanted to do was grabbed the boy, hugged him tight and never let him go. He waved his hands up at her and with a small smile, she scooped him up and made her way to the swings, glancing at his laughing mother and twin brother, who demanded his mother to push him higher.

What a spoiled brat.

Shaking her head, she placed the boy in the toddler swing set. She was careful in minding his head, made sure his feet was on the hole before giving him a wide smile. With a small push, Naru listened with delight and watched as the little boy giggled out in joy, waved his hands up in the air as he tried to touch the blue sky. This was how kids were suppose to be like, not gloomy and sad but happy like the little boy in front of her.

"Higher?" he asked, looking up at her with such hopeful eyes that Naru didn't had the heart to deny his request.

With a small nod, she agreed to his request and pushed the boy higher. He squealed and waved his hands harder, making her heart contract at the cute sight. A small part of her wondered if this was what a mother felt while another part of her wished she remembered to bring a camera with her. She just wanted to capture this moment with him, to show him he was cared because from what Naru could see, his mother didn't care for him. Not in the way he deserved.

She stopped pushing him when she noticed his mother grabbed his brother out of the swing and placed him in the stroller. It seemed like she had to end their fun now. She couldn't keep doing it when his mother was about to leave with his brother. Despite what she thought of his mother, Naru knew the boy still needed to be with his mother and brother. Family stick together and no one get left behind that was her motto. No matter what she thought, the boy needed to go back home with his family.

"Stop?" he asked, gazing up at her.

She smiled sadly. "Your mama and brother are leaving which means you have to go," she gulped down a lump, "so I have to give you back to them don't I? Or else they will be worried."

"No! I don't go!"

"Your mama and dad will be sad if they see that you aren't with them," she reasoned with him, grabbing him out of the swing and placing him on top of her head. "Do you want to make them sad?"

"Dad gone! Mama care for Daichi! Mama don't care Tsuna!" he burrowed his head on her hair as he said this. She felt her heart squeezed at his words. This wasn't going the way she thought. She was supposed to take him back to his mother, who she could catch up with if she ran as fast as she could in civilian speed. She wasn't supposed to be feeling sorry for him, she wasn't suppose to be reconsidering her thoughts about taking him back home.

But damn it, this toddler had the saddest eyes she had ever seen and had a mother who fawned over her other son more than this boy on her shoulder. It also didn't help she felt a connection with this little toddler, who must be at least two years old.

With a small smile, she said, "I guess I'm going to take you in Tsu-kun."

She didn't need to look up to know the boy was smiling widely at her words. She also knew that despite just meeting the little boy, she wanted to make sure he had a wide smile on his face. This boy, despite being a stranger, was someone Naru wanted to raise as her own because damn it, no kid deserved to feel lonely or unloved.

She was going to give this boy the best childhood he would ever have!

But first, she needed to convince Sasuke in letting her take the boy along because while she could fight him with no problem, he was going to complain in his own way about her taking a kid with them.

* * *

Staring at the brown-eyed toddler in Naru's arms and then to girl herself, Sasuke had to wonder how the girl hadn't gotten into trouble in all their time in these countries. This was the twentieth time Naru came into their room with something, or in this case someone, that didn't belong to them. Not only this, where did she found the boy? She had barely been gone for an hour before coming back here with a little boy in her arms and having that hopeful look that meant she wanted to keep this boy.

Honestly, what was he going to do with the dobe?

"Why do you have a baby in your arms?" He narrowed his eyes when she started to give him a nervous laugh. "And where did you find him?"

"I went to the park and found him being neglected by his mother," he folded his arms and arched his eyebrows at her, "I was going to take him to his mother but he wanted to stay with me and…and he looked so sad and lonely just sitting there and watching his mum play with his twin brother."

"When you're in a situation like that you _report_ it to the _police_ ," he said slowly, emphasising on the word report and police to her. "You don't just take in a kid because you feel sorry for him. Do you even know how to raise a kid dobe? It isn't like those babysitting jobs we had as genin!"

"The police wouldn't do anything, they never do anything," Naru said bitterly, reminding him of the times when they were younger and how he naively believed his father would have helped Naru with her problems. "Besides, if I took him to the police then they might send him to an orphanage Sasuke! Orphanages aren't nice; they are a placed filled with loneliness and pain! I don't want him to deal with it! Besides look at him Sasuke, can you deny him anything?"

He opened his mouth to tell her yes he can because he didn't have her need to help everyone that needed help but closed it when the boy stared at him. He felt his resolve wavering as the boy gave him hopeful eyes, reminding him of a sad lion cub. No! He was not going to fall into that trap! He was going to convince Naru to give that boy back to his mother because she wasn't even responsible enough to take care of herself, little alone a toddler!

His resolve started to crumble when Naru started to coo at the little boy, who giggled and clapped his hand together as he stared up at the blonde with adoration. For a brief moment, his mind drew an image of Naru carrying a blue-eyed black-haired child in her arms, giving the baby the same type of smile she was giving the boy in her arms. It was just as soon as the image appeared; it disappeared reminding him it was just his imagination and that he could never think of the dobe in that way.

The dobe was his friend and rival, he shouldn't even be thinking of her as a potential love interest. Until the age of twelve, he thought of the girl as another one of the guys. It was only when he saw her again in Orochimaru's hideout, he saw she was actually a girl. He was just reminded of the fact again when she started having a relationship with that annoying, curly-sideburn bastard in Italy.

He almost lost her that time.

"Hn. People are going to ask questions when you come back with him," he pointed out to her, keeping his face blank when she gave him a wide smile as she placed the toddler on her bed. "People are going to talk about you, talk about him and what you did in the two years we have been here."

"I know but I don't care what they say," she said firmly, gazing down at the boy that stared at them with wide-eyes. "I don't care about what they think of me. I had fun in the two years I have been gone, I had a relationship," Sasuke inwardly scowled at this, "I had a relationship in which I can claim that kid is his. It isn't like I'm going to see him again. Besides, I can't leave a kid knowing that the life he has is filled with loneliness. He's like us Sasuke, no one really cares about him!" she gulped. "Besides, this might be my only chance of being a mum!"

With that determined look in her eyes, Sasuke knew nothing he says to her would change her mind about raising the boy. He knew if he even told her she couldn't juggle it with her shinobi duties that she would tell him she would prove him wrong. She would just try to show him she could raise the boy with no problem when he himself could see the problems Naru was going to have with raising a kid. It would make her dream of becoming Hokage harder to achieve since kids needed a lot of attention, attention that the Hokage couldn't give easily.

Besides, not even Naru could juggle being Hokage and a parent.

"So what are you going to tell people about him?"

"He's my kid from my relationship with Reborn," she answered. "Tsuna was born at least two years ago and I met and had a relationship with the guy two years ago, so the timeframe is perfect. I also have a perfect story to use since I don't need to twist the way we met."

"And if he asks about what his dad looks like?"

"I will tell him that his father hated being in pictures," Naru tilted her head, "Which is true because it was so hard for me to get Reborn to agree to take a picture with me."

Sasuke sighed. "I'm going to regret letting you raise him."

And with those words Sawada Tsunayoshi no longer existed, being declared by the police three years later as dead while Uzumaki Tsunayoshi was soon introduced to his adopted mother's friends and family.

In the three years to come, Tsuna would be spoiled by his mother and various aunts and uncles, who made sure the boy was always happy. He would be raised to be a powerful shinobi, being trained not only by his mother but also by his various uncles. He would be forced to learn to be strong in this lifetime, where in another lifetime he wouldn't be forced to grow stronger until he was fourteen.

But for now, Tsunayoshi Sawada now known as Tsunayoshi Uzumaki was content in watching his new mother and uncle argued about what to feed him.

* * *

Please review


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who added this to their favourites and follows. It surprises me that this story already has sixty-five alerts and eighty-two followers in the first chapter alone, for that I want to thank everyone for giving this fic a chance. I also want to thank everyone who reviewed the story.**

* * *

"Kaa-chan! Kaa-chan! Today is my birthday!"

Nodding her head at her son's words, Naru groaned, rubbed her eyes and sat up straight in her bed and glanced at her clock. Why must Tsuna wake her up? Did he forget how she made a rule not to wake her up before seven? She stared at her son, who continued to jump on her bed and was smiling and crying out for everyone to hear about how it was his birthday today. How he was now five years old, old enough for her to train him with the wooden kunai like she promised him a year ago when he pleaded for her to teach him how to wield a kunai. She smiled at this. She couldn't stay angry with Tsuna when he was this happy for his birthday.

Her smile faded as she glanced at the calendar beside her bedside. She curled her lips when she noticed the big red circle she marked not only as Tsuna's birthday but also the day Sasuke was meant to come back from wherever he was. The bastard had left the village again, claiming he needed to atone for what he did and promising he would come back for her son's fourth birthday. Shaking her head, she looked at the picture of her, Tsuna and Sasuke posing, well more like her and Tsuna while Sasuke simply scowled at the camera.

"Is Sasuke-ojiisan coming back today?" Tsuna asked eagerly, giving her a wide smile that told her just how much he missed Sasuke. "Today is my birthday! He promised to come back today! Is he really going to come back today Kaa-chan?"

"He promised you didn't he?" Naru grabbed the little boy's small waist, causing the boy to shriek in surprise. "And what did I tell you about your Uncle huh?"

"He always keeps his promise!" Tsuna yelled. "Unlike Mama!"

"And when has Mama ever broke a promise to you Tsu-kun?" She gave him a hurt look. "I guess since Tsu-kun likes Sasuke-ojisan more than me that means I don't have to give him any birthday present…and Tsu-kun has been asking for it so long!"

Tsuna blinked and blinked his eyes. "Did Kaa-chan buy me the newest manga edition?" she shook her head. "Did Kaa-chan buy me Kakashi-ojisan books?" Naru narrowed her eyes at her son, who gulped at her look. "Did Kaa-chan get me the Hokage's hat?"

She shook her head. "Try again Tsu-kun, it is something that you have to be to get the hat!"

"A ninja! Kaa-chan made me a shinobi!" Naru grinned and shook her head. "What did Kaa-chan give me that will get me the hat? The only thing left if not ninja is…The Academy! I'm going to go to the Academy! I'm going to learn how to be a ninja! Kaa-chan, you're the best mummy in the world!"

Naru nodded her head, grinned widely as Tsuna continued to scream about how he was going to be the best in class. Two year ago, her son wouldn't behave like this. He would be so quiet and nervous, stuttering so badly that someone needed a translator for him. It all changed when she went to Hinata, who had a similar problem to her son. She had begged and cried for Hinata to help her make her son more confident because she didn't know how to help him, didn't know how to do it without pushing him too far. She didn't want to make any mistakes with him, she didn't want him to suffer like Hinata did in school.

Hinata had simply smiled at her and told her to bring Tsuna around for lunch so she could talk to him. She remembered how Hinata asked her, more like ordered that she went and helped Kiba with the dogs while she talked to her son. Her son never told her what they talked about but whatever they talked about changed Tsuna. He had lessened his grip on her pants the next time they went to the park and even tried to make friends with the other kids.

Naru didn't know what her best friend said but she was happy to see the change in Tsuna.

"Do I go to the Academy today Kaa-chan?" He looked at her with wide eyes. "Am I going to go there today?"

"Sorry kiddo but that will have to be on Monday!" She shook her head. "Today is Saturday or have you forgotten Tsuna?"

Tsuna flushed red and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm just so excited Kaa-chan," he smiled widely, "I'm turning five today Kaa-chan! I'm a big boy! I'm going to catch up with you and become an awesome ninja Kaa-chan! I'm going to become Hokage like Kakashi-ojiisan!"

Her heart swelled at his words and all she wanted to do was grabbed the boy around the waist again and tell him to hold on to those dreams, to that innocence of his because the shinobi world wasn't as nice as the stories she told him. It was so much darker but her son was going to learn that sooner or later, if not from her then the future missions he would have. He was also going to learn how being Hokage wasn't all that cracked up to be because just by looking at the amount of her sensei had to do, she still had to question herself about whether or not she wanted the job.

Of course she was offered the job, she wouldn't say no but she wasn't going to look forward to the mountains and mountains of paperwork they had to do.

Shaking her head at her musing, Naru asked, "So what do you want for breakfast Tsu-kun? Today is your birthday so I'm going to make whatever you want!"

"Can we have chocolate pancakes, Mama? It's my birthday so it's a special right?" He asked, tilting his head at her.

Naru chuckled and nodded in agreement, ruffling the little boy's hair and then proceeded to make her way towards the kitchen, ignoring the cheer from the younger boy. Humming to herself, Naru grabbed the ingredients needed for their breakfast. She could remember the day when she decided to learn how to make pancakes, specifically chocolate pancakes. She had learnt to make chocolate pancakes in her trip in England, when Sasuke and her wanted to try that American restaurant near their hotel. Sasuke had pulled a face when he read chocolate pancakes while she beamed in delight and asked the waiter to give her one. It had been weird to eat pancake but Naru found herself addicted in the second bite and before she even realized it, she went to the nearest bookstore to learn how to make it.

That had been the first and last time she went into a bookstore without any resistance.

"Mama, after breakfast we're going to the park?" Tsuna asked, snapping her from her train of thought. "I promised to meet Mirai there!"

"You're going to see her later today in your birthday party," Naru smiled, "Is my little Tsu-kun in love?"

Her son flushed red. "Mama! Girls have cooties!"

Naru laughed and tickled the little boy's stomach, causing him to shriek with laughter. "Does that mean your Mama have cooties too?" she asked him, still tickling the little boy in the stomach. "It hurts my feelings that you think your Mama have cooties!"

"Mama doesn't have cooties!" Tsuna squealed after she finished her tickle attack. "Mama is Mama, she's not a girl! That means you don't have any cooties!"

She smiled at hearing those innocent words, knowing that Tsuna would change his mind when he got older. At this age, he still had innocent thoughts of girls being disgusting, though the only exception to that rule was Mirai Sarutobi, who was her son's closest friend. She wanted to keep him like that, not liking girls in that way but it was impossible. No matter how much she wanted to deny it, to try to stop it, she couldn't stop Tsuna from growing older.

That was why she treasured moments like these with her son.

* * *

The park was his favourite place in the whole wide world, well besides his home. Nothing could beat home, where the sound of his mother's humming echoed throughout the household or where his mum's friends would drop in unexpectedly to check up on him whenever his mother was off in a mission. The park, on the other hand, was the place where he hanged out with the other kids and played with them. It was there where he felt like a hero, pretending to be a famous ninja like his mother whenever they played ninja or whenever he had to save Mirai-chan from the boys who liked to pull her hair.

He looked around the park, dismissing the parents and the other kids who all played in the sandbox, and grinned when he caught sight of a shaggy black hair girl with red eyes rushing towards him. He blinked his eyes and opened his arms automatically when the girl hurled herself into his arms, causing him to stumble and fell down to the ground.

"Tsu-kun! Happy birthday!" He beamed at the reminder. "Did Naru-obachan give you your present yet? What was it? I didn't bring my present because Kaa-chan says we have to wait until your birthday party to give it to you!"

"You got me a present?"

Mirai nodded. "Of course Tsu-kun, why wouldn't we get you a present? The best things about birthdays are the presents! Our present is going to beat everyone else's presents because I picked it!"

Tsuna smiled and thanked his friend, who rolled her eyes at him and told him he was being weird for saying thank you before dragging him to the sandpit, telling him about her week even though they saw each other yesterday. For some weird reason, it still surprised him how people cared about him and gave him presents. His mother always got sad whenever he looked surprised to see presents so that was why this year, he learned to control his face before he woke his mother up.

It was worth learning to control himself because his mum had that serene smile on her face when she told him about his present. He hadn't seen his mum smile like that since before his uncle left on his long journey, telling him to protect his mummy like the big boy he was. It was silly for his uncle to ask him that because of course he was going to protect his mummy.

No one could hurt his mummy and get away with it.

"Hey Tsu-kun…have you ever thought about your daddy?" Mirai asked when they finished building a sand castle. He blinked his eyes at the question. "Don't you ever wonder why you don't have a daddy?" she glanced at the fathers. "My daddy is gone but what about yours?"

Tsuna scratched his neck, curling his lips into a small frown before glancing at his beaming mum, who was talking with Mirai's mum. He had never thought about his daddy. He never felt the need to. Who needed a daddy when he had his mummy and uncles and aunts? His mummy was better than any daddy he could ever have! And he did have a daddy! His daddy was Sasuke-ojiisan. Daddies gave hugs and presents right? They also scolded them whenever a kid do something wrong, Sasuke-ojisan always scolded him whenever he did something wrong.

Still, he did know what Mirai-chan was talking about. He might think Sasuke as his daddy but he wasn't his daddy because he wasn't married to Mama. His uncle was just friends with mama, very close friends as Aunt Ino would say with a weird look in her eye that always earned a slap from his Aunt Sakura and flushed look from his mama, who always told his aunt that there were kids present. Uncle Sasuke help raise him but he wasn't his daddy like the way Asuma-ojisan was to Mirai.

"I never thought about my daddy," Mirari blinked, "I don't need a daddy because I got Kaa-chan and Sasuke-ojisan! To me, Sasuke-ojisan is my daddy!"

"Sasuke-ojisan isn't here," she tilted her head, "How can he be your daddy if he isn't here? Daddies are always here, they don't just go."

"He's here," he pointed to his heart, "Mama says the people you love are always in your heart! Besides he is my daddy, he always scolds me whenever I do something wrong! He threatened to tell Mama not to let me eat ramen until I say sorry to Hiro-san for punching him in the face," The two five-year-olds pulled a face as they remembered how the boy bullied Mirai, "He also said he was proud of me because I saved you from him! He has always been there for Mama and me! I can't remember when he hasn't been there for mummy! He also tells me stories and tucks me in bed whenever Mama can't do it! He also loves Mama! And the only person who can love Mama as much as me is a daddy right?"

Mirai blinked her eyes. "But he left you and Naru-obachan alone! You still think he's your daddy?"

"Of course because daddy is daddy right? Just because he isn't here doesn't mean he isn't in my heart," Tsuna looked up at the sky. "Mama says Sasuke-ojisan has a good reason for leaving us the way he did! And Kaa-chan never lies to me about these kind of things. Sasuke-ojisan also likes Mama, so he can't leave her!"

Mirai blinked. "If he likes Naru-obachan than why isn't he dating her?"

This time it was Tsuna's turn to blink at his best friend. "Dating?" he tilted his head. "What's that, Mirai-chan?"

"It's what Temari-neechan and Shikamaru-niichan are doing!"

"I don't know what they're doing," he informed her, "Mama says they're just really good friends."

"They're good friends that kiss."

"How do you know that?"

"I saw them kiss!" Mirai pulled a face. "And I asked Ino-neechan about it and she said they were dating! She said when people date that's when people become _really_ good friends."

"Then wouldn't it mean Mama is dating Sasuke-ojisan?" Tsuna frowned. "I haven't seen them kiss but Kaa-chan says she and Sasuke-ojisan are best friends and I kiss Mama, does that mean I'm dating her?"

"No because she's your Mama and you kiss her on the cheek! It isn't the same! You haven't seen them kiss because they do it in secret," Mirai said wisely. "You know if they date then they'll get married!"

His Mama married? Tsuna glanced at his mother, who smiled as she talked to the other mothers and noticed how their husbands were beside them and had matching rings. Didn't his mama get lonely whenever she talks to them? And was she dating Sasuke-ojisan like Mirai-chan was saying? No, she wouldn't be dating because Kaa-chan would tell him about it. Kaa-chan never kept things from him. He glanced at his mother and then to his best friend before tilting his head. If his mummy was dating Sasuke-ojiisan, then why didn't she tell him?

Also if his mummy was dating Sasuke-ojisan then would that mean his Uncle was going to become his new daddy? If that was the case then Tsuna was happy for his mother and uncle. Out of all his uncles, Sasuke was the one he liked the most. He always hanged around his mum and always made sure his mummy wasn't overworked. Whenever his mummy was on his mission, Sasuke-ojiisan made him his food and tucked him in bed. He even took care of his mummy when she was sick, making her soup and everything. Uncle Sasuke says he didn't want to deal with his sick mummy in a mission but Tsuna knew it wasn't that.

He knew his uncle loved his mummy in the same way Uncle Kiba loved Aunt Hinata.

"Hey, Tsu-kun what do you want for your birthday next year?" Mirai asked, snapping him from his train of thought.

He blinked and smiled. "For Mama and Sasuke-ojiisan to get married!"

In the corner of his eyes, Tsuna noticed his mother had turned beet red while Mirai's mother smiled and laughed at his mother. He wanted to go over there to his mother but Mirai had grabbed his arm, smiled widely at him and told him that they were going to play hide and seek. Tsuna opened his mouth to protest but closed it when the girl gave him wide eyes, reminding him of the puppies that his uncle Kiba raised.

His mummy could wait but this game can't because by the time the birthday party starts, he wouldn't have any alone time to spend with Mirai.

"Tsu-kun, I'm going to leave you with Kurenai-sensei and Mirai-chan!" His mother called out to him before Mirai and him could decide on who was to be it. He furrowed his eyebrows at his mother, who gave him a smile. "I've things to do before the birthday party comes and I can't have you with me while I do them."

In other words, his mother was going to prepare the birthday party while he played with Mirai-chan. Of course, his mother didn't know he knew this but he was going to pretend to play dumb about his mother's actions.

After all, didn't Kakashi-ojiisan say that a ninja's best weapon was deception?

* * *

It had been a year since Sasuke left Konoha, left Naru and Tsuna, for his journey around the Elemental Nations. The village itself hadn't changed much, having the same buildings except for the occasional new apartment complex. He didn't really care about the changes in the village if he was honest to himself. What he really wanted to see was the changes in the little boy Naru decided to adopt, the little boy he had reluctantly came to see as his own.

Three years passed since Naru decided to take in that boy and Sasuke would be the first to admit that the girl had changed a lot from their younger years due to the boy. Naru used to jump straight in for everything, never caring about the consequence but now of days she was taking the time to think about her actions. This was all because she had a little boy waiting for her, a little boy that she wanted to come back to. It was because of that little boy Naru trained herself even harder than before because now she had someone else to protect, someone Naru called her as own and family.

He stopped walking when he noticed the sign of 'Uzumaki household'. He curled his lips when he noticed the balloons that decorated the house. Shaking his head at the orange balloons that seemed to be more prominent than the red and yellow balloons, Sasuke opened the door. It seemed like the dobe still had the habit of leaving the doors unlocked.

 _She's in the kitchen,_ Sasuke thought as the smell of chocolate enveloped the room. He placed his shoes on the side, glanced at the pictures of the smiling blond, him and Tsuna before making his way towards the kitchen. He stopped walking when he reached the kitchen. He winced as Naru started to sing off-pitch as she poured the flour into the bowl and started to mix it with things that he presumed needed for baking.

"It's a miracle Tsuna can still listen with your singing," Naru froze. "I'm surprised that the birds are still alive with your singing…dobe."

He kept himself smirking when Naru swirled around, ladle in one hand and her other hand on her hips as she gave him a glare. "I'll have you know that I'm a great singer, just ask Tsuna!" she gave him a smirk. "Y'know if I didn't have a cake to bake, I would hurt you and let you explain to my son why his favourite uncle have bruises!"

"Hn. I'll tell him his mother have violent tendencies," he retorted. "Speaking of Tsuna, where is he?"

"Playing with Mirai-chan in the park," She answered. "So avoid the park for the next two hours."

Sasuke folded his arms and raised his eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"Because you're going to be a surprise for him," Naru answered, smiling brightly at him, "All he talks about these days is about you! He missed you a lot y'know? Every day I've to listen to him ask if you're going to come back for his birthday! And always tried to find someway to imitate you! A couple of months ago, he wanted to have tomatoes in his rice balls! You're the only person I know who eats like that!"

"Not everyone likes to eat ramen everyday."

"Ramen is the food of the gods! And I don't eat ramen everyday, I eat it like two times a week these days," he raised his eyebrows at her and she pouted, "Tsuna complained about having ramen everyday and Sakura-chan told me that it isn't healthy for him to have too much of it."

"Anyone could tell you that," He pointed out to her, taking a seat on the countertop chair. "You're lucky that you've the Kyuubi in you or else you would have suffered the consequence of eating too much ramen."

"What consequence! Ramen doesn't have any consequence."

"If people eat as much ramen as you do, they would become fat," he said dryly, glancing at Naru's toned body before looking out at the window.

"They won't become fat if they do exercise," he snorted, "Oi! It's true! Just ask Sakura-chan! And even if I didn't have Kurama, I would still have this hot body because of the amount of exercise I do," she smirked. "I got endless amount of energy you know!"

 _I do know_ , Sasuke thought as he remembered the painful conversation he had with Reborn about his teammate's stamina. The amount of things he heard about his best friend made him both curious and embarrassed. How could that man talk about it to him he didn't know but he did know now a lot more things about Naru that made him more interested in the girl than he should. Honestly, he was curious to know if Naru was as flexible as Reborn made her out to be.

He shook his head at his thought.

"So how was your journey around the countries?" Naru asked. "Met any cute girls over there? Did you get a girlfriend over there because if you did then I don't want to be the one to tell Sakura-chan that any idea of you two going out is gone."

"I didn't get a girlfriend in my journey Naru," he scowled, "Who would want to date a man that nearly tried to destroy the world and a village because of his hatred? And I can't date Sakura, I told you this a million times."

Placing the bowl on the counter, Naru turned to look at him. "What's wrong with dating Sakura-chan?" she smiled widely at him but Sasuke been around the girl for so long that he knew it was her fake smile. "She's really likes you Sasuke, she's been in love with you since we're kids."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Naru asked. "She likes you teme, isn't that enough for you to want to date her?"

"I can't see her in that way Naru," he stared at the picture of Tsuna and Naru grinned widely at the camera. "I like Sakura like a sister, I always did. I never saw her in that way."

"You know if you keep that up then you'll never be able to revive your clan," he blinked his eyes and Naru smiled. "Didn't you say to our team that you wanted to rebuild your clan? How are you going to do that if you don't find a girlfriend?"

"You still remember that?"

"It's kinda of hard to forget," Naru said sardonically, placing the cake mixture into the oven. "How many twelve years old who ever thought like you do? Still, you do realize to rebuild your clan you actually need to have a girl right?"

"Are you offering?" Sasuke asked without a second beat.

He blinked and blinked his eyes before giving her a smirk, hoping the blonde wouldn't notice his embarrassment, while the said blonde flushed and rubbed the back of her neck, a nervous habit he knew she always did whenever she was caught off guard. He didn't know what possessed him to say something like that to Naru. No he did know. It was because they were doing their usual banter, a banter that always made him forget to keep a filter.

"Y'know if I didn't know that you didn't like me like that, I would tell you that you need to first ask a girl out before saying something like that to her," Naru finally said, breaking the awkward silence between them. She smiled brightly. "So I'm going to ignore what you said and go back to making the cake! I'm going to make a better cake than last year."

He stared long and hard at Naru, who gave him a wide smile as she placed her hands into her pockets. "He's going to like what ever you cake bake for him," Naru blinked, "Tsuna worships the ground you walk on, he doesn't think you can do no wrong."

"I can say the same for you," she smiled. "He's always asking about you and wants to learn your ninjutsu! You know he asked me if I could teach him how to use the sword! He told me he wants to use your sword! Your sword! What's wrong with kunai huh?"

"It just means he likes me better."

"He can't like you better than his own mother!" He gave her a smug look, causing her to scowl. "It's just because you're a guy that he likes you!"

"Then why does he like me more than Kiba, Shino or Shikamaru?"

She grinned. "Maybe it's because he knows that out of all of them, you're a big softie."

"I'm not a softie."

"Yes you're Sasuke," she smirked, "You gave Tsuna on his third birthday a stuffed lion because you thought he looked like a lion cub." She paused, waiting for him to protest against her words before continuing. "And you told him to look after me even though I don't need looking after."

"That was me telling your son what his first priority should be," he informed her stiffly. "It's a son's duty to protect their mother."

Blue eyes softened at his words and before Sasuke could even blink his eyes, the girl launched herself on him. He spluttered and glared at her for the surprise attack while said blonde beamed widely at him, giving him the smile that he always saw whenever she was with Tsuna. "I missed you teme," she declared, "And despite what you say, _you're_ a softie and an overprotective bastard! Only you would tell a little boy to protect me even though I don't need protecting. I never needed protecting but…it's nice to hear that you're worried about me."

He felt his resolve crumbled as the blue-eyed woman gave him a small smile. This smile was the only smile Tsuna and him had the pleasure of seeing often. It had been a year since he left her yet it felt like he never left her. Despite everything he did to her, despite the fact he hurt her time in and time out, this woman in front of him still cared for him. He gazed into her bright blue eyes and stared at her lips before twisting his head away, biting his tongue to prevent himself from doing something impulsive.

He didn't want the dobe to get the wrong idea and it would be a terrible idea if he did something stupid on her son's birthday because the kid would get the wrong idea. Well, he would get the right idea but the dobe would think he didn't mean anything. She would presume he didn't want anything to do with her like that. She would even deny it because of Sakura, who still liked him.

He honestly didn't understand the girl code but surely if a guy wasn't interested then it wasn't valid right?

"Hey dobe…it's good to be back."

Naru smiled. "It's good to have you back teme…it's good to have you back home."

He nearly smiled at her words, nearly told her truth about everything but bit his tongue to prevent the words that wanted to spill out. Sasuke didn't want to admit to her but home to him was where Naru and Tsuna were. Those two were the closest things he had to family, the closest thing he had to a home.

For the first time in years, Sasuke felt like he was home.

* * *

This had to be the largest birthday party she had ever thrown, Naru thought to herself as she opened the door to let another pair of guests to come in. It was worth it though. All this hard work and planning for her son's birthday party was worth it as along as she saw Tsuna smiling and laughing with his friends. As long as her son was happy, Naru didn't mind all the hard work she put into planning the party.

She glanced at her son, who had a small smile as he played ninja with Kurenai's daughter and Hinata-chan's cousin. Sometimes she couldn't help but wonder what would have happened to her little boy if she left him there in the park. Would his mother remember to pick him up? Or would her son have stayed there in the cold, waiting for a woman that would never come? Just even thinking about that day made her want to find the woman and throttle her for being so careless with her son. How could someone leave their kid like that? How could she leave her little boy? Her son was lucky she was there that day because if something had happened to him then it would have been that woman's fault.

Shaking her head, Naru glanced at her guest bedroom's window, where Sasuke was currently standing and gestured for Sasuke to come down to join them. He pursed his lips at her and nodded stiffly, telling her he was going to come down now.

It was time for them to start the surprise.

"Tsu-kun, do you think everyone is here?" Naru called out to Tsuna.

The little boy stopped running, looked at her and then to the crowd of people gathered before shaking his head. "Sasuke-ojiisan isn't here!" he crossed his arms at her, causing everyone to laugh and shake their head at him. "Mama, where is Sasuke-ojiisan? He said he was going to come for my birthday."

Naru bit her cheek, hoping and praying that the little boy didn't notice her amusement. The surprise would fail if he realized that his uncle was already here. Still, Tsuna would figure it out why she asked him this. The boy was sometimes too sharp for his own good and was just too observant for his own good. It was for that reason alone, it made it hard for her to buy a gift for him since he knew what she would get for him.

"I'm here gaki," Sasuke said gruffly, appearing beside her. He glanced at her and then to the beaming boy. "I said I was going to come for your birthday didn't I?"

Smiling widely, Tsuna launched himself into the man's arms, earning giggles and squeals from the girls and the shaking heads from the boys. She watched with a small smile as Tsuna babbled to her best friend about what he did over the past year, about how he kept his promise to him about protecting her. This was much better than her birthday. This was the way things were meant to be: Sasuke here with them.

"Sasuke-ojisan, which countries did you visit? Did you go to Kaze no Kuni? Where did you go? And can you take me with you next time?" Tsuna babbled, looking at Sasuke with such adoring eyes that Naru felt her heart clenched. "I'm going to start the Academy on Monday! I'm going to become a ninja like you and Kaa-chan! I'm going to become a better ninja than you and Mama! Also can you teach me how to use a sword?"

Sasuke glanced at her and must have noticed her reluctance because he said, "When you're older Tsuna. You're not strong enough to carry a sword…and I doubt we can find a sword that can suit you now."

"Then can you teach me ninjutsu?" Her son asked. "All the jutsu Mama knows are things that I can't do yet! Mama says my chakra reserves aren't like hers so she can't teach me her jutsu yet."

"You need to first access your chakra before anyone can teach you ninjutsu."

Tsuna gazed long and hard at him. "Then can you teach me how to access it? Mama isn't good in teaching me how to do it!" Naru raised her eyebrow at him, crossed her arms and stared long and hard at him, causing the boy to wince. "Mama, I can't learn anything if you don't show me!"

"I showed it to you!"

"You didn't explain it to me properly!"

"I did but you didn't pay attention to me kiddo!"

Sasuke sighed at the mother-son's argument. "Naru, don't scoop to your son's level! Tsuna, I will teach you since I don't want your mother teaching you the wrong thing!"

"How would I teach him the wrong thing? When have I ever taught someone the wrong thing?"

"Until you were twelve, you pronounced Chakra wrong."

"I did not!" She denied. "It was you guys that pronounce it wrong!"

"Naru-neechan, I'm going to take Sasuke side on this," Konohamaru called out, smiling at the petite blond. "You said chakra as if it was a cat!"

"I did not!"

"You did too dobe, don't deny it."

Naru opened her mouth to argue with him but before she could even say anything, her son looked at Sasuke and Konohamaru and asked them more stories about her childhood. She felt her heart grew heavy with dread when she saw the evil smirk on his face. Sasuke wouldn't dare…he wouldn't make her look bad in front of her own kid. Looking at the smug look on her friend's face, Naru was willing to bet that her best friend was willing to go as far as to do that to her.

Damn it, she shouldn't have argued with Sasuke if this was going to happen.

"Tsuna has your motor mouth Naru," Kiba commented, watching her son in amazement as he continued to go on and on about asking Sasuke about what she was like as a kid. "I'm surprised _he_ isn't trying to stop him from talking. Also why does your kid talk to him more than he talks to any of us? And why is he asking Sasuke about you as a kid? We knew you better than he did."

"Sasuke won't admit it but he likes talking to Tsuna," she smiled, "And he hasn't seen Sasuke in over a year Kiba! He sees you guys everyday while he hadn't seen Sasuke in the past year. Also, you guys might know me better as a teenager but not as a kid, we weren't close when we were kids. I was a lot closer to Sasuke…before the massacre. Besides, he talks more to Sasuke because he feels closer to him. He helped me raise him y'know."

"Everyone knows about that. If you aren't with Tsuna then Sasuke is, he takes care of Tsuna when you're not here," Kiba stared at Sasuke and Tsuna, "I don't know who is more overprotective over him, you or Sasuke!" Naru shrugged her shoulder and Kiba stared at the smiling brown-haired boy. "It's easy to see why Sasuke is overprotective of him. There's something about your son that just draws people to him…just like you in that sense."

"He's my son isn't he?"

"Sometimes it's hard to believe that he's your kid," Kiba flickered his eyes at the boy and then to her, "He doesn't have your scent yet he looks similar to you and the Fourth Hokage."

He did look similar to her father, Naru agreed to her friend's observation. He had the same spikey hair, the same eye shape and don't let her get started on his facial features but it was something Naru never understood. If he had been truly her biological son, the features were understandable but Tsuna wasn't her biological son. He wasn't supposed to look similar to her and her father but he was. He looked similar to her father that when she brought him back, Kakashi-sensei had looked like he had seen a ghost.

It just made her wonder about her father's side of the family. She didn't know much about her father's history except he graduated at the age of ten. Did he have family? She doesn't know and most likely never know. She would never know because she never asked him when she had the chance. The two of them had been busy trying to stop the world from being destroyed and at one point; she had to protect Sasuke from her father's misunderstanding about their relationship. The man had been dead for seventeen years and had the belief to protect her honour from Sasuke. What on earth gave her father the wrong idea about her and her best friend?

Shaking her head, Naru continued to watch her best friend and son talk to each other about everything Sasuke missed, about the play dates Tsuna had but most of all how much her little boy missed him. She didn't know why but whenever she saw the two of them interacting, her heart would clenched in pain. Pain for what she didn't know. She didn't know anything except that she didn't want any of this to change.

But it was going to change because sooner or later, Tsuna was going to find out the truth. Sooner or later, Sasuke was going to find a girlfriend who would tell him not to visit her. When that happens, Naru was just scared that she was going to be left alone again, clinging for a relationship that was never really there. A relationship that could never really be true.

In the end, Tsuna wasn't her biological child and would want to meet the mother who abandoned him. Sasuke, on the other hand, was going to relieve the clan and bring it back to its former glory with the help of Sakura of course.

After all, who would want a jinchuuriki for a wife and mother? Who would want someone as broken as her? No one was the answer.

She was going to end up alone sooner or later.

* * *

It had been four long years since Iemitsu last came back home. Four years since he last saw his beautiful wife and two adorable twins, his little Dai-kun and little Tsu-kun. Were the twins being good to Nana? What were their first words? He had so many things to ask his wife, so many things he wanted to do to his adorable twins. He hummed a little tune as he pictured the surprised expressions of his two little twins when they realized he was back for their fifth birthday.

Grinning at the sight of his house, Iemitsu rang the doorbell. He couldn't wait to pick up his two sons, give them their birthday presents that he personally picked for them. It was so hard for him to pick presents especially for little Tsuna. Little Tsuna, unlike his brother, was very hard for him to pick presents. He was so much quieter and nervous but still had that glint of intelligence that no other kid he had ever seen had. His co-workers would argue he just thought that because he was a proud father but Iemitsu knew different, he knew little Tsuna was going to be someone great and was meant for great things. It also didn't help he looked and acted a little bit like his older cousin who had disappeared without a trace.

"Iemitsu!" His wife cried when she opened the door.

He smiled widely when he saw a Daichi clutching his mother's dress. The little boy looked at him with wide brown eyes then to his mother, who explained to him with cheerfulness that he was his father. The little boy beamed and smiled at him, waving his hands at him and demanded that Papa carried him. His heart clenched at this, he was happy to hear that his son was calling him Papa but it pained him to know that his son didn't know him. It shouldn't because he knew this was going to happen to his son. He had only spent one year with his sons before going back to work.

Shaking his head, Iemitsu scooped the boy into his arms and entered the household with Nana chatting to him about how things were. He should be happy to hear his wife talking to him but something didn't feel right. No, Iemitsu knew something wasn't right. His instincts were telling him that Nana was hiding something from him, something very big. What could his wife be hiding from him? And where was Tsuna? Where was his little tuna fish?

He stopped walking and glanced around the living room, noting there were pictures of Daichi everywhere and only a few pictures of Tsuna. He frowned. Every picture he saw were pictures of Tsuna until he was a year old, everything else faded. He frowned even deeper as he scanned through his memories, trying to remember if his wife ever talked about Tsuna in the phone and if she ever sent him pictures of their oldest son. He realized with a sinking heart that his wife didn't send him anything to do with Tsuna.

"Nana…where's Tsuna? Where our little Tsu-kun?" His wife immediately stopped talking and avoided his gaze. His heart started to pick up the pace as he realized that his wife was not going to answer his question anytime soon. "Nana, where's our son? Where's Tsuna? Where's our little tuna fish?"

"Who's Tsuna?" His youngest son asked before his wife could answer his question.

 _Who's Tsuna?_

His blood turned cold at his son's question. "Nana, why doesn't Daichi know who Tsuna is? And where is our son? Where is my little tuna fish?"

"Tsuna…Tsuna is gone," Nana gulped, "Tsuna hasn't been home in nearly four years. He's gone Iemitsu."

"Gone?" he muttered, placing their son down on the floor. "What do you mean gone Nana? What happened to our son?"

"We went to the park like usual, Tsu-chan, Dai-chan and me," she placed her hands on her face, "I was playing with Daichi in the swings and I took Daichi home but I forgot to take Tsuna home…I forgot to take him home. I only remembered about him during dinner time," Iemitsu bit his lip as he tried to reign his temper at his wife's forgetfulness, "I went back to the park, thinking that Tsuna would still be there…except he wasn't there anymore. I searched everywhere for him but he wasn't anywhere to be found. I went to the police and they searched for him everywhere but they couldn't find him anywhere. Two weeks ago…they declared Tsuna dead. Our son isn't here anymore."

Iemitsu stared at his wife's eyes and felt for the first time since their relationship started, furious with her. How could she leave their little boy by himself? How could she forget about Tsuna? He felt his heart throbbed as the memories of Tsuna rushed through his mind. Tsuna had been a small baby compared to Daichi and so much more fragile that when he was bornm Iemitsu was afraid to hold his son in fear of dropping him. With his small hands and little form, Tsuna had been the smallest baby he had ever seen. His heart clenched as he remembered how he used to make silly faces for the little boy.

His little boy was gone…no he was missing, Iemitsu corrected himself as he stared at the pictures of a baby Tsuna. Gone meant he was dead but no one had found a body so there was a chance his little boy was still alive, still breathing. They just needed to find the person who kidnapped his son, to find the person who took his little boy away from him. He was going to murder the person who dared to take his little boy away from him.

"Iemitsu…"

"I don't know if I can forgive you for what you did Nana," he stated, keeping his voice even as he tried to control his rage. "Our son had been missing for god knew how long and you didn't tell me! You didn't tell me our son is gone! Not once in our phone calls did you mention this!" he took in several deep breaths. "I'm going out Nana…I need time to think about everything…to process about what happened to Tsuna."

His son was missing; his baby boy was missing. Someone took his son away from him and whoever it was; Iemitsu was going to make certain that they paid for what they did. He was going to find out where his son was if that was the last thing he did.

Iemitsu just hoped that Tsuna wasn't suffering wherever he was.

* * *

 **A/N: Please review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** I want to thank everyone who added this to their favourites and follows as well as to everyone who reviewed the last chapter.

* * *

The Academy was a school Tsuna had always dreamt of going, not just because his Mama, uncles and aunts went there but also because it was the only ninja school in the village. It was the only place in the village where children are not only taught civilian stuff but also everything to do with ninjas. Not only that, almost all the Hokages had went to school there, which meant he was going to walk in the same corridors that the previous Hokages had walked in.

Just the thought of walking in the same corridors that the previous Hokages had walked in made his knees shake with anticipation and excitement. One of the classrooms he was going to be in was the same classroom his grandfather had been in, the same one his mother and uncle had been in and even the classroom that the Sandaime Hokage had been in. What if he sat in the same seat as them? It would be so cool if he sat in the same seat as them, especially if it was his grandfather's seat! Out of all the Hokages, Tsuna liked his grandfather the most since he was actually related to him!

"You're finally going to school," His mother said to him with a bright smile as he grabbed his school bag from her hands. She glanced at his uncle, who was sipping his tea as he read the newspaper. "Can you believe it Sasuke? My little boy is going to go school now! It seems like only yesterday, we were changing his diapers!"

Tsuna ducked his head down, praying and hoping he wasn't blushing at his mother's trip back to memory lane. Every time he did something new or figure something out, his mother would talk out loud about his earlier childhood days. At one point, his mother had told Mirai-chan about how he used to cry whenever she left him alone in his bedroom. It was a natural reaction; no matter what his mother thought because he swore his bed had monsters underneath it!

"I didn't know you were that old dobe," His mother's eyebrows twitched at his Uncle commented and before Tsuna could even blink his eyes, his mother slapped his uncle on the head. "I wouldn't have said that if you didn't make yourself sound so old!"

"I'm only twenty-two! I'm not old!" She snapped. "Besides, it isn't everyday my son starts school! Do you know how important this day is?"

Sasuke stared long and hard at his mum, having a very weird look in his eye as he stared at his mama before telling her that he did know, which caused his mother to smile widely at the raven-haired male. His Uncle simply shrugged his shoulder, turning his head away from his mother before telling his mother that if she didn't finish doing her work then they were going to be late for the opening ceremony.

Tilting his head, Tsuna stared at his mother and uncle, who were talking about their own opening ceremony, well it was more like his mother talking and his uncle pretending to listen to his mother's babble. It had been a year since his uncle left them but his mama was acting like nothing changed, like his uncle leaving them hadn't affected her. How could his mama bottle it up? Why did his mama always keep her feelings hidden? And why doesn't his uncle tell his mother he loves her like the way he told him whenever he went to bed? There were just so many things he didn't understand about his mama and uncle's relationship.

He hoped his friendship with Mirai-chan wasn't going to end up like his mama and uncle. He didn't like the idea of keeping things from her, not when he knew everything about her or how she knew everything about him.

"…You were so annoying in school with your perfect grades!" His mother said to his uncle, snapping him from his train of thought. He blinked his eyes and stared at his mother, who had a smile that told him she wasn't really annoyed about her father's grades. "Well it doesn't matter anyway…I'm a lot more stronger than you! Goes to show that grades doesn't matter in life!"

"You just got lucky," His uncle retorted, folding his arms to his chest while his mother placed the fried eggs in front of him. "The next time we fight, I'm going to defeat you."

His mother smirked. "Oh? You sound so cocky even though you haven't seen me fight since the last war."

"What does cocky mean?" Tsuna asked.

Naru blinked her eyes, rubbed the back of her neck before glancing at his uncle. Tsuna frowned. His mama always looked at his uncle whenever she didn't know how to explain it to him. The last time his mama had given that look to his uncle was when he asked his mama where babies came from. His mother had looked so scared and worried before glancing at his uncle, who simply sighed at his mama before telling him that babies come from a bird that delivered them to girls who really wanted kids.

Till this day, Tsuna didn't believe his uncle words but he knew from his mother and uncle's faces that if he asked them not to lie to him, they would give him an answer he didn't want to hear. For now, he was going to accept his uncle's really stupid lie but he wasn't going to accept a lie about the meaning of the words.

"Cocky means when someone believes that they are the best in everything but in a really annoying way," His uncle explained, ruffling his hair. "If I was cocky then your Mama was ten times worse…at least I had a reason, she didn't have any reason."

His mother snorted. "Well sorry for not being good in school like a certain someone."

"Mama, you weren't good in school? But you're the best ninja in the whole village," His mother smiled while his uncle snorted at his words. "How can you be the best ninja in the whole village, no the whole world, if you weren't good in school?"

"I was a very bad student in school Tsuna, if you ask Iruka-sensei, I was his worst student even if he denied it," His mother smiled softly, "I was lucky that I passed Tsuna and it was for that reason along with many others, I trained very hard to become the person I'm today. School…isn't everything Tsuna just remember that."

"You still need to do well enough that people don't make fun of you," his uncle said dryly, "Isn't that right Naru?"

"People bullied you, Mama?"

His mama narrowed her eyes at his uncle, who simply gave her a look that made his mother scowled. "Yes, I was bullied when I was your age," she rubbed the back of her neck, "No one liked me when I was a kid Tsu-kun…I was different from everyone else so a lot of people decided they want to hurt me either by pulling my hair or by saying mean words to me."

"They hurt you because you were different?" She nodded. "Isn't that stupid? Isn't everyone different? You and Sasuke-ojisan are different from each other and the same goes for Sakura-obachan and Ino-obachan! Mirai-chan is different from me and I am different from everyone in the village but I don't bully her…why were you different? Why when people who look different or act different get bullied? Why Mama? Why Sasuke-ojisan?"

His mother smiled softly, grabbed him by the waist and started to hug him so tightly that Tsuna was afraid he wasn't going to be able to breath properly. "I will tell you when you're older Tsu-kun," she whispered into his ear, "Just promise me that you'll keep that mind set when you're older. As long as you have that thought then everything is going to be fine. Also, when you go to school today, remember to be yourself and don't follow what people say! Make friends with everyone even if other kids tell you don't!"

"Mama, you're acting weird!" Tsuna sighed in relief when his mama released him from her hug. "Of course I'm going to do that! And why are you telling me to be myself? Aren't I always myself? It isn't fun to be someone I'm not! And I'm going to be friends with everyone, no one can tell me what to do right? Only Mama can do that!"

He felt his heart lift when he saw his mama gave him a small smile, which told him more than anything that his mama was proud of his words. She only ever gave him those smiles whenever she was really happy with him or whenever she felt so happy that she couldn't express it in words. Still why was she so happy with his words? Was it because he said it wasn't fun to be something he wasn't? What was it in his words that it made his Mama so happy?

"The two of you better hurry up or else you're going to miss the opening ceremony."

His mama frowned. "Aren't you going to come with us?"

"It's only for family," His uncle stated. "I'm not apart of the family."

"You're apart of this family Sasuke!" Naru declared, crossing her arms at Sasuke. "You helped me raise Tsu-kun and you're the only father figure that Tsuna has."

His uncle blinked his eyes, opened his mouth to argue with his mama but closed it when his mama widened her eyes at him. Tsuna giggled when his uncle sighed at his mama and grumbled under his breath about how he was doing it for him and not for the dobe. This only caused Tsuna to smile wider at them. No matter what his uncle says, Tsuna knew he wasn't only coming for him but also because of his mama. Even if it wasn't spoken out loud, Tsuna knew his uncle was willing to do everything for his mama.

It was for that reason and so many others that Tsuna loved Sasuke-ojisan because while his mother spoiled him, his uncle spoiled his mother in his own way.

* * *

Stepping into the gates of the Academy felt weird if you asked Naru. It had been so many years since she last came here, so many years since she started her ninja journey but most of all, this was the place where she first experience hatred from the other kids. It was the first place where she had her first fight, first big argument and her very first kiss. It was a place filled with so many beautiful and painful memories.

Rubbing the back of her neck, she stared at her old sensei who looked so relaxed as he waited to start the speech for the academy. How could he be so calm doing this? Didn't he find it weird that he was opening the school like the Sandaime Hokage did? She just felt weird standing here and she wasn't even opening the school! Was this how ninja parents felt when they first come here? God if this how she felt now, how was she going to feel when she become Hokage?

"Calm down dobe," Naru blinked her eyes at Sasuke whose eyes were fixed on her son instead of her, "If you panic then _he_ 's going to think something is wrong. You don't want him to panic do you?"

"No but it just feels weird to be back here," She muttered under her breath, glancing at the other parents. "Just standing here, waiting for Kakashi-sensei to start his speech, reminds me of how anxious I was waiting for the Sandaime Hokage to start it. Just remembering it makes me think that so much time has passed."

"Of course so much time passed," Sasuke clenched his hands into a fist, "It's been sixteen years since we started the academy."

"And now sixteen years later, Tsuna is starting his journey in the academy," Naru stared at Tsuna, who looked at the crowds of students with wonder, "Three years ago, I was just changing his diapers…now he's old enough to go to the academy, old enough to learn how to be a ninja! What if he graduates early? What do I do then Sasuke? Tsuna is so smart that it isn't impossible for him not to graduate early! And what if he sees that being a ninja isn't as awesome as I made out it to be, what if he doesn't want to be a ninja?"

Sasuke placed his hand on her shoulder. "If he graduates early then you're going to support him aren't you? You're going to make sure he acts like a kid right?"

"Of course I'm going to let him act like a kid!" Naru crossed her arms. "The worst thing I can do to Tsuna, no to what the Shodai Hokage wanted was not allow him to act like a kid. But what if he doesn't want to be a ninja Sasuke? Did I push him to be one?"

"Did you tell him you want him to become a ninja?"

"Of course not! I'm a lot of things but I won't force my son to do something he doesn't want to do!"

"Then he's here out of his own choice," Sasuke stated, "Besides…he's your kid, if there's anything you Uzumakis are good at…it's surviving. He'll survive in the ninja world, Naru…we will make sure of that."

She didn't need to ask who he meant because it was obvious to her. Sure, all her friends were going to try their best in helping her son in becoming a good shinobi but it was going to be Sasuke and her who was going to make sure he knew how to survive in this world. Her friends _adored_ Tsuna but they didn't _love_ him like the way she and Sasuke did. They didn't understand her fear for Tsuna, not in the way Sasuke did because they didn't know what it was like raising a kid. Sasuke did, though, because he helped her.

Looking back at it now, Sasuke had always helped her when it came to her son. He helped her so much that it shouldn't be a surprise when Tsuna had told his best friend Sasuke was his daddy. Out of all the males Naru knew, it was surprisingly Sasuke who acted most like a father to her son.

"He isn't just my kid," she whispered to Sasuke, watching Tsuna as he rushed towards Mirai, "He's _our_ kid Sasuke even though we aren't in that type of relationship, I can't deny the fact you raised him with me. You've just as much right to be called his father like I am his mother."

She nearly laughed when Sasuke blinked his eyes at her, opening and closing his mouth at her in shock. It wasn't easy to surprise her best friend. Until now, she didn't think anything could really make the older boy shock. After all, how could one surprise a man that almost certainly didn't seem to care much about the world? It was difficult that was for certain! The easiest thing to do with Sasuke was embarrass him but Naru even found it hard to do since he would do the same thing to her.

At least, she could claim she had finally seen a shock Sasuke!

"I'm not his father. I've no right to claim to be his father."

"You've every right to claim to be his father," Naru said firmly, "I can't imagine Tsuna's father to be anyone but you. Out of everyone I knew, the one who seems to care the most about him besides me is you. When I'm not here, you take care of him. You're the one I know that I don't need to ask to look after him, you always pick him up from the day care whenever I had a mission! You made sure he eats properly! And you scold him whenever he did something wrong! How does that not make you his father?"

He gazed down at her. "I left the two of you alone for a year. How does that make me his father? I missed a lot of things in the past year."

"You left us because you still felt guilty for the war! You still believe you still need to make up for your mistakes," Naru rubbed the back of her neck, "I knew that was important to you and it was for that reason alone that I didn't try to stop you. Besides, there's no stopping you…you're like a cloud like that."

Sasuke snorted. "If I was a cloud then you're the sky."

"You know that implies you're always going to be with me because the cloud follows the sky," Naru retorted, "And you don't like following anyone."

"I don't follow you but you let me do as I wish," Sasuke gazed down at her, "You never asked me to stay…you allowed me to do as I please, the only time you asked me to do something it was when I left the first time."

There was something foreign in Sasuke's eyes, an emotion that Naru could not identify with. It was an emotion she had never seen on her best-friend's face but as soon as the emotion was there it was gone, leaving her to wonder if she had imagined it. It wouldn't be the first time she had seen that emotion on him. The first time she had seen that strange emotion was when she came out of the Japanese store in an orange kimono that she still swore till this day made her look just as pretty as Sakura and the others.

If you asked Sasuke, it didn't make her look as pretty as them.

Shaking her head, Naru gazed at Tsuna who chatted happily with Mirai and then to Kurenai, who had a sad look on her face as she stared at her daughter. Today would have marked the fifth year of Asuma's death. The fifth year since the war had ended yet the pain of all those they had lost hadn't faded. It didn't fade the pain, it never did but it did become numb to the point that Naru could ignore it.

"Welcome parents, family…"

It seemed like the speech was beginning and it wouldn't be long before Naru had to leave her son alone in the academy.

She gulped.

Naru wasn't looking forward to leaving her son alone in the academy. Don't get her wrong, her son was going to be fine and the academy was safe but Naru was afraid that people might stare at her son. She remembered how Konohamaru used to complain about being stared at, about how people saw him as his as the Hokage's grandson. The same might happen to Tsuna and he probably wasn't going to tell her about it. No he definitely wouldn't tell her about his problems. Her sweet little boy would rather endure the pain than make her worry about him.

Sometimes, she wished that Tsuna would tell her the truth.

* * *

Tsuna kept the smile plastered on his face as his mama took another picture of Sasuke-ojisan and him standing in front of the school doors. The speech had barely ended when his mama decided she wanted to take a picture of him going to school with Sasuke in it. His mama claimed there weren't many pictures of his uncle and him together but Tsuna knew it was his mother's way of showing to his uncle that he was a part of their family. Why his Uncle need to be shown that he was apart of this family, Tsuna didn't understand since he thought it was obvious but maybe it was an adult thing.

"I wish I could go in with you but parents aren't allowed in," His mama pouted, earning a giggle from Tsuna while his uncle rolled his eyes at him. "So I'm going to say what all parents have to say to their kids which is don't get into trouble or at least don't get caught if it is a prank."

"Mama?"

"Tsuna hadn't even started school and you're already encouraging bad behaviour," His uncle drawled, shaking his head at his mother and then staring down at him. "Don't do any pranks even if you're dobe of a mother says it's okay, it's still a bad idea. No one is going to take you seriously if you do them, just ask any of your aunts and uncles if we ever took her seriously in school. Until your mother turned twelve, she was labelled as an idiot and a troublemaker. Do you want that Tsuna?"

Tsuna shook his head and frowned. "I'm not going to do any pranks Sasuke-ojisan! But aren't pranks considered training?" Naru and Sasuke blinked their eyes at this. "Pranks are just traps right? And if you are good at setting pranks then aren't you also good at setting traps? And Ninjas needs to be good at that type of thing right?"

His mother and uncle glanced at each other, giving each other one of those looks that just told Tsuna that they were communicating with their eyes, before slowly nodding their heads with a stupefied look. Tsuna grinned. He had been able to surprise his mama and Uncle about something to do with ninjas! He thought of something not even a fully-grown adult had thought of! How could they not even consider pranks as part of training? Didn't the two of them ever noticed how his mother had always been able to set better traps then his uncle whenever they were doing their training? And his mother was actually better in hiding than his uncle despite the fact she always wore orange.

"When you put it in that way then yes, pranking can be considered as training," His mother gazed at the Hokage Mountain with a small smile while his uncle gazed at his mother and then to the mountain. "If you compare them to traps then yes pranks are good training for that. Like traps, you need to plan carefully and have great knowledge of the area and your target. If you didn't then it wouldn't be successful…I was able to escape most of the guards because I knew my way around the village well."

"I still find it amazing how the jounins couldn't even catch you," His uncle shook his head, "To be a jounin but to be out run by a kid was really mocking the capabilities of this village."

His mother smiled. "If the jounin had bothered to learn every route this village had then they would have been able to catch me," his mother paused, "And I also had people hiding me whenever it happened."

"Who would hide you from trouble?" Tsuna asked, gazing up at his mama.

His mother gazed out at the streets and a small smile played on her lips. "Some really nice people who most if not all people thought were bad people. Until the age of twelve, I felt like I belonged with them…they were the ones who took care of me when I had no mama or papa."

Tsuna frowned, glanced at his uncle, who had a blank expression at his mother's words, and then looked at his mother who had that look that said he wasn't ready to hear the whole story from her. He pouted. He didn't know who took care of his mama when she was a kid. No one ever told him, he didn't know who he should call as his second grandfather since no one seemed to know who raised his mother after the death of her parents. Not even Kakashi-ojiisan knew who took care of his Kaa-chan when she was a kid.

"Till now I didn't know why the hell they took care of me when it wasn't even their duty," his mother said so softly, running her hands through his hair. Tsuna shrugged his shoulder and glanced at his uncle, who had a foreign look in his eyes. For some strange reason Tsuna had an idea his uncle knew what his mother was talking about and whatever it was, he wasn't old enough to hear the story. He wasn't old enough for lot things but this time, Tsuna would not ask his mother about it.

Something told him he was going to find out about it soon.

"You know I also pranked your uncle too," His mother said, changing the subject. "I knew your uncle so well that I was able to put pink hair dye into his shampoo and I only knew that because I knew where he lived and seen him do his grocery shopping."

"That was you!" His uncle hissed.

Naru shrugged her shoulder. "Who else do you know that will do it? It certainly wasn't Sakura, she doesn't have the guts to do something like that!" She grinned. "Pink hair really _suits_ you Sasuke."

His uncle growled. "I wasn't taken seriously for a whole two weeks because of you! All the teachers couldn't look at me without laughing!"

"You deserved it," His mother retorted, "If you didn't have a stick right up your…I mean if you weren't so stiff and overconfident then I wouldn't have done it! Besides, everyone else in the school still thought you were so cool for having your hair dyed! It ruined the whole purpose of the prank!"

His uncle snorted at her, muttering under his breath about how he felt sorry that her son had an idiot for a mother. Tsuna couldn't help but laugh at his uncle words while his mama scowled and muttered under her breath that her own best friend was insulting her in front of her own kid and how he always tried to make her look uncool. Tsuna laughed even harder at this. His Mama was silly for thinking like that, nothing what his uncle could say could make her look uncool.

Shaking his head, Tsuna stared at his mother and uncle then to the other parents that seemed to be gathered around. Out of all the parents here, his Mama and Uncle looked like the youngest people to come here. Everyone else looked like they were the same age as Mirai's mum. He tilted his head when he noticed that some of the parents were staring at his uncle, giving his uncle such strange looks that just made him want to cling to his mother. Why were people giving such weird looks to his uncle? What did his Uncle do to have people give him such looks? And how could his mum and uncle talk so calmly while people gave his uncle such weird looks?'

"Tsuna…is something the matter? Aren't you excited to go to your classroom?" His mama asked, drawing his attention away from the parents. He gazed at his mother's smiling face and then to his uncle, who stared blankly at him. "It isn't nothing to be scared about, the teachers are going to be nice and if there's anything wrong then you know you can go to Iruka-sensei!"

"I'm not scared!" Tsuna crossed his arms at his mum, "I just don't understand why everyone is looking at Sasuke-ojisan as if he had cooties! Why are they looking at him like that Mama?"

His mama's smile faded at his question and for once in his life, Tsuna could see the truth in the stories about how his mother could be one scary woman when mad. What made his mama scary was the fact she wasn't smiling but the fact her eyes had a determined look in them. In fact if Tsuna didn't know any better, he swore his mother's eyes had a slight orange tint to it but it was gone before Tsuna could ask his mama why her eyes turned orange.

His mama shook his head. "I can't tell you kiddo…that's something Sasuke can tell you."

Tsuna gazed at his uncle, who simply scowled at him. "I'm not telling you," his Uncle said gruffly, giving him the same look that he had when he didn't answer his question on why he was leaving him and his mama, "You're not ready to know the truth."

"Is it for the same reason why you left Mama and me?" Tsuna asked, causing his uncle and mama to blink their eyes at him. "Why are you guys looking at me funny? Is it because of that?"

"Yes."

Tsuna opened his mouth to ask more questions but stopped when he noticed the pained look on his mother and uncle's faces. He gazed at the other parents, who looked away from him, before looking back at his mama and uncle. Something inside of him was telling him not to ask any more questions, that his uncle was going to tell him soon. He trusted this instinct; it was the same instinct that told him that most of the men who tried to talk to his mama wasn't sincere to her. It also helped him to tell him how to dodge the attacks from the other kids so this instinct wasn't going to be wrong now.

With that thought in mind, Tsuna wrapped his arms around his mama's waist, sniffing the familiar scent of his mama's orange body soap and gave his mama a wide smile, which earned a wide smile from her. He unhooked his arms around her waist before rushing towards his uncle's waist, causing the older male to stiffen in shock. For a brief second, his uncle kept his arm stuck to his sides before wrapping his arms around him.

"I'm going to make you guys real proud!" Tsuna declared, earning a smile from Naru and a smirk from his uncle. "I'm going to get the best grades that the academy has ever seen! I'm going to beat Sasuke-ojisan grades in school!"

"Why Sasuke? Why not me?" His mama pouted.

"That's because you were the dead last in school so that isn't much of a goal," His uncle stated, giving his mother a smirk. "I bet no one in his year could be worst then you were at school!"

"Take that back!"

"Hn."

"If Tsuna wasn't here then I would so make you pay for it!"

Tsuna giggled at his mother's words before looking at the doors. He smiled widely when he saw Mirai standing there, arms crossed and a cheerful smile on her face while their instructor stood behind her, looking at him in amusement. Glancing at his arguing parents, Tsuna muttered a quick good bye before rushing towards his best friend, not hearing his mama as she called out his good bye while his uncle told him to be good.

It was quite funny how his uncle told him to be good because his uncle should be saying that to Mirai instead of him, his best friend liked doing pranks and getting into trouble, Tsuna simply just tried to steer his best friend out of trouble.

* * *

Iruka couldn't help but sigh and shake his head when he saw who were the last two kids who filed into his room. The day had barely started and already Tsuna and Mirai were already late for school then again, considering who Tsuna had as a mother, Iruka should have known that Naru's bad habit was going to rub off on the boy.

He mentally chuckled at his thought and watched as Kurenai's daughter dragged the younger boy to a seat in the back row, where their other friends were seating. A memory flashed through his mind of a very young Sasuke doing the same to Naru. If Iruka closed his eyes, he could just remember how the once criminal had a bright smile as he chatted to the blonde, who also had a bright smile and didn't seem mind to be drag. His smile disappeared as he realized just how long ago it was, now he was teaching his ex-student's son.

"Iruka-san…we need to start!" His assistant whispered to him, handing him the student room. "There seems to be more kids then usual! And we also got Naru-sama's son! I bet the kid must be talented with having her as his mother!"

Chuckling, Iruka glanced at Tsuna, who had a small smile as he chatted to a Hyuga kid, and thought back to the days where Naru had been a student. Many people seemed to have forgotten about what Naru was like a kid, as a student, only remembering her actions during the war. Every villager forgot how the young blond once had terrible grades, not that it was her fault. If Iruka was to think back to it, it was his fault for not paying attention to the young girl when he should. By the time she graduated, it was too late for him to fix his mistakes.

What Naru did for the village and her strength came from herself, more then any teaching she ever received.

"All right," Iruka said, drawing all the kids' attention to him and his assistant. "My name is Umino Iruka, the man beside me is Yamashita Hiro. When I call your name, stand up and introduce yourself to your classmates. Hiro and I will show you how it will be done. My name is Umino Iruka, I like to teach, I dislike people who abandon things before they are finished and my dream is to see all of you become splendid ninjas."

"I am Hiro as Iruka-san told you," Hiro smiled at them, "I like to watch movies and reading stories, I don't like people who don't take their work seriously and my dream is to become a jounin."

Iruka nodded and glanced at the list in his hand before glancing at the eager students. "Now that we showed it to you, we can begin properly. Aburame."

In the far corner of the room, a figure wearing a trench coat stood up, adjusting his sunglasses. "My name is Aburame Arata, I like my siblings and my parents, I dislike anyone who hurts them and anyone who kills bugs. My dream is to be able to master all of my clan jutsu and make new jutsu that are better than the ones we have."

Iruka nodded as the boy took a seat before glancing down at the list in his hand. "Akimichi."

He nearly gawked when he saw a thin child standing up, looking uncomfortable as the other kids stared at her. Not once in his life had Iruka ever seen a thin Akimichi! All the Akimichi he knew were fat, no, big boned was a better way to describe them. It was important for them to be fat or else their jutsu wasn't going to work properly. How on earth could there be an Akimichi that wasn't fat? Even a half Akimichi was fat…so why was this child different?

"I am Akimichi Haruko," the girl said, standing up straight as she stared at them. "I like my clan and food, my dislikes are anyone who dares to call any member of my clan fat, they are big-boned. My dream is to surpass Uzumaki-sama."

Iruka didn't miss the way she glanced at Tsuna, who gulped when the girl gave him a cold look.

He had the strangest feeling that the past was going to be repeated with those two because he remembered hearing stories about how the Fourth Hokage's wife did the same thing to him or was it something else entirely? He wasn't familiar with the details of the first interaction between the couple, only knowing that Kushina had been scary protective over her husband, glaring at any female who dared to look at him.

He shook his head at his thoughts and kept calling out the names from the list, making a mental list of the number of girls who kept giving his surrogate nephew looks of adoration. After school was done, Iruka was going to have to teach Tsuna to be weary of any girl that tries to give him food or any one who claimed to like him. He might also need to talk to Sasuke about teaching the young boy on how to avoid fan girls, the boy, no; man was an expert on how to avoid them. Till this day, Iruka remembered how Sakura and Ino would complain about not finding the boy.

"Uzumaki," Iruka finally said, glancing down at the list in his hand.

The brown-haired boy stood up straight, causing the books to fall, which lead to most of the students laughing at the boy. The boy flushed red, rubbed the back of his neck and then stared at him. "My name is Uzumaki Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna. I like ramen, pancakes, mama and Sasuke-ojisan, I dislike anyone who says bad things about mama and Sasuke-ojisan! My dream is to become Hokage! The best Hokage that this village has ever seen!"

" _My dream is to become Hokage believe it!"_

He remembered how Naru had the same thing, with the same exact smile that was on Tsuna's face and like with Naru , Iruka could believe this little boy could do it. There were just something in his eyes that just told him, he needed to watch out for him. What was it with Uzumakis that just made them seem like good leaders?

Then again, if he looked back with Kushina, the woman didn't have the same charisma that her daughter and grandson had. The Yondaime Hokage was the same as his daughter and grandson, there was just something about the man that just drew people to him. Perhaps, it was a Namikaze thing. There must be something in that family that just drew people in, making them ready to follow them to the end of the earth.

"Yuhi," Iruka called out.

The shaggy black-haired girl beside Tsuna stood up with a wide smile on her face. "My name is Yuhi Mirai! I like growing plants, playing shogi with Shikamaru-niisan and Tsu-kun!" This earned an embarrassed look from the boy. "I hate anyone who insults my friends and I plan to be the best kunoichi just like Naru-obachan!"

Iruka smiled.

Maybe, just maybe there was hope in this generation of kids.

* * *

Gazing at her father's face in the Hokage Mountain, Naru started to think back to Kiba's words about how Tsuna looked too much like her and her father. Why did her son looked too much like her and her father? And why wasn't there much about her father's past before the age of eight? And why was there a lack of information in general about the man? Everything she knew about the man was from school and even then, there hadn't been much information on him. All they ever said in books was how intelligent he was and the moves he created. Jiraiya rarely talked about her father, looking pained whenever the topic of her father came up.

The war came and Naru hadn't had the time to think about her father's mysterious past. All she had to think about at the time was bringing back her best friend, to stop more blood from spilling and of course stopping the world from being destroyed. She just didn't have the time to ponder about her father's past or there was never a good opportunity to ask about him. She couldn't even ask him since she was more worried about the world and protecting her best friend from her father's wrath! How on earth could she have gone to her father and say 'Hey Dad, I'm curious to know where the hell were you born!'. No, she couldn't even do that.

Then war ended and Tsuna came to her life so any thought of looking into her father's past had disappeared because she had to take care of her son as well as prove to everyone that she was worthy of taking her father's position, of Kakashi's position. Now with Tsuna gone to school and her position as the next Hokage was nearly secured, Naru had the time to start looking into her father's mysterious past.

"Something is bothering you."

Naru blinked her eyes. "What makes you think that something is wrong Sasuke-teme? I'm fine."

"The fact that you're on your first bowl and haven't babbled about how you miss Tsuna tells me something is bothering you," Naru opened her mouth to argue before reluctantly nodding her head in agreement, knowing she couldn't argue about this. "The last time this happened was when you broke up with that curly haired bastard."

"He wasn't a bastard Sasuke, I knew what I was getting into when I started my relationship with Reborn," Sasuke snorted and Naru narrowed her eyes at him. "Despite what everyone thinks, I do know what type of men to avoid. Reborn was someone who I knew for a damn fact wasn't the type of guy to do serious relationships. He just needed release from his job and I was alright with being that release…didn't help he was _good_."

Sasuke blanched. "I didn't need to know that," he grumbled, "And what was his job huh dobe? You barely knew the man before the two of you started that relationship of yours."

"I did know what his job, I've been around men like him all my life that I would really be an idiot not to know what his job was," Naru stated, pressing her hands on her head. "Besides I didn't immediately start our relationship, we talked, had dinner and then on the fifth date…it happened."

"I didn't need to know that."

"You know you need to know that, it is after all how babies are made," Naru retorted. "Babies…what if Tsuna comes back home and asks me where babies come from! What do I tell him?"

"Tell him the same story you were told when you were a kid."

"I'm not telling him that!" Naru screeched, remembering what she was told from the old man that raised her. "Anything but that…it's going to scar him for life and make him more grown up and I don't want him to grow up! He's still my little boy! I'm going to keep his mind innocent!"

"He's going to be a shinobi, he needs to know how babies are made so he doesn't fall for any traps from any foreign kunoichi," Sasuke reminded her. "Besides if you don't tell him then the Academy will…it's a part of the curriculum or have you forgotten?"

"It's been twelve years since we graduated! Of course I have forgotten!"

"How you even survive for this long I don't know," Sasuke muttered before gazing at her, "Now are you going to tell me what's on your mind or not?"

Naru sighed. "Do you find it weird how Tsuna looks too much like my father? I adopted him but he shouldn't look like my father and me but he does! It's good because no one questions my relationship with him but I just wonder…if we are related in a different way. There's no information about my father's personal life except for the fact he graduated young and had very good grades. I don't even know where he came from! Was he even from Konoha!"

Sasuke stared at her then to the Yondaime's head before shaking his head. "He wasn't from here, he wasn't born here. He came from a far away place. That was what Tou-san would say whenever the topic of the Fourth came up. He said that despite being _outsider_ , the Fourth Hokage was still able to fit in very well here and had some kind of aura that even drew Tou-san in."

"How do you know that? From what I remembered, your father had a stick in his ass and didn't seem the kind of guy who would tell anyone this."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "He never told me or anyone, all I know are from the journals that he left behind. He knew because he was the one who found your father, unconscious near the gates of the village and also because they were in the same team. For a short time, your father was taken in by my clan."

"I find that hard to believe. Your clan hated anyone that wasn't apart of your clan," Sasuke winced at this but Naru didn't notice this. "Remember how your elders insisted that I shouldn't enter the house because of how I looked! I was lucky your old man and your mother had put their foot down on it. So why did your clan take in my father for a short time?"

"Hn. It was because my great-grandmother insisted of taking him in," Sasuke pressed his hands together. "From what father had written in his journal, my great-grandmother had taken one look at him and proclaimed he was to be taken into our household until he was well enough."

"Why?"

"I don't know but I do know from the journal that my father mentioned how she looked like she had seen a ghost," Naru blinked her eyes at hearing this. "Sometimes my great-grandmother would mention a name, the name Giotto but father never understood why she mentioned the name. She would sometimes speak to your father in a weird language that annoyed my father to no end and how your father understood it so well that my father started to look into my great-grandmother's past."

"What did he find out?"

"I don't know," Sasuke answered bitterly, "He never wrote it down. All he ever said, it changed everything…his outlook about the clan. I doubt it changed it enough for him not to do what he did."

"Did he mention anything else about my father?" Naru asked, changing the subject. "Did he mention where exactly my father came from? Is there anything else about my father in those journals of his! Could I read it Sasuke? It might be the only chance I have of knowing more about my old man!"

"Your father had connection with the Yakuza," Naru's smile dropped at this information, "I don't know how my father found out about this but I do know that the perfect image that this village painted of him wasn't completely true. Your father along with mine as well as a few others did deals with them, saved those scoundrels a couple of times that they owed not only your father but mine as well a life debt. Out of all the Hokages, your father had the most dealings with the underworld but somehow those dealings of his made certain that they would not bother the village. If that's not interesting enough, your father name in the beginning wasn't Namikaze Minato, he chose that name when he signed up for the Academy."

"If my father name wasn't Namikaze Minato then what was he called?"

"Sawada Minato was your father's real name."

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter as well as to everyone added this story to their favourites and follows.

* * *

"Mama! Sasuke-ojisan! I'm home!"

Tsuna smiled widely when he saw his uncle reading the newspaper in his usual seat while his mother watching television, looking really annoyed at what was on. His mama only got annoyed with the T.V if they were showing something that wasn't true like that time they made it seem like the Shodai Hokage and his best friend were having an affair behind the Shodai Hokage's wife's back. His father had told his mother it was a parody and she shouldn't take it seriously, which only made his mama angry since she said it was insulting the relationship the two men had.

How did his mama know that, he didn't know but he did know his mother knew a lot of things about the previous Hokages.

"How was your first day of school?" His mama asked, breaking her eyes from the television and fixed her bright blue eyes at him that seemed to shine with eagerness. "Did you make any new friends? Who is your instructor? And what did you learn today? Did they teach you anything today?"

Tsuna blinked his eyes at the surge of questions that his mother kept blasting at him. Does he tell her the truth and talk about how one girl in the class seemed to really dislike him? No, if he told her then she would become worried about him and then confront his teacher about it. Tsuna didn't want that to happen. His mama already had too many things on her plate, doing missions, the housework and of course taking care of him, if he told her about this then she might over-react about it.

No, she was definitely going to make a very big deal about it.

"It was fine," Tsuna placed his bag on the floor, took a seat beside his mother and laid his head on his mother's stomach. "We didn't learn anything today! They just told us what we're going to learn for the next few years. Iruka-ojiisan is my instructor."

"Oh? You got Iruka-sensei as your teacher well then I won't have to worry about anything," His mother said softly, running her hand through his hair. "Iruka-sensei knows what you're like so he knows what you can do and is fair to everyone so he won't treat you differently. I was worried you were going to have a sensei who thinks just because you're my kid you're going to be awesome, not that you aren't but I don't want you to be treated differently from the other kids."

"Why would they treat me differently? You're just my mama! I know you save the world but it doesn't mean I should be treated different from everyone else, does it?"

His mama had a small smile. "It's because I did that they would treat you different from everyone else. You know Tsuna I want you to remember that just because you're my kid, it doesn't mean you…"

"…Are any better than the other kids!" Tsuna finished, smiling widely at his mother. "I know Mama! You tell me this so many times!"

"I'm sorry if it sounds so annoying for you kiddo but I don't want you to have a big head," His mother gazed at the picture of her old team before shaking her head at him. "People don't like people with big heads…they are really annoying."

"Yet you dated one," His uncle grumbled, earning a frosty look from his mother.

Tsuna tilted his head at his mama and uncle. Why did his uncle looked so unhappy about it? Was it because his mama didn't date him? If this was the case then wasn't it silly for his uncle to be angry with his mama? His mama wasn't dating anyone. His mama had never been with anyone or else his mama would have introduced the man to him right? The man mama was going to date was the man that was going to be his new papa right?

Then if the man his mama was going to date was his new papa then what would happen to Sasuke-ojisan? Was he going to leave them because of it? Did that mean he would never hear those really cool stories from him? Was he even going to visit them a lot? Tsuna pulled a face. He didn't want that. He wanted to be around his uncle more! He wanted to learn things from Sasuke-ojisan because he was just as strong as his mama and Tsuna wanted to be as strong as them.

He nodded his head and stared at his uncle, who raised his eyebrow at him. "What's it Tsuna?"

"Sasuke-ojisan…can you teach me how to use chakra?"

"I said I would didn't I?"

"I mean can you teach me today?" His mama and uncle blinked and raised their eyebrows at him. He smiled nervously and ran his hand through his hair, a habit that he picked up from his mother. "I don't want to be behind anyone and I really want to learn Kaa-chan and T…Sasuke-ojisan's jutsu but I can't do that if I don't know how to use chakra! If I don't learn how to use chakra then how am I going to protect the people I love? How can I be like Mama?"

His uncle grimaced and glanced at his mother, who had a strange look in her eyes as she gazed at him and then to the window, where the Hokage Mountain stood. Tsuna frowned and opened his mouth to ask his mama to ask her what was wrong but closed it as a small voice told him if he asked her any questions then she was going to have a breakdown. Lately, his mother had been acting weird but something told him that today was one of the days where he should not be causing her any trouble.

"If I train you how to use chakra then I don't want to hear any whining," His uncle stated, glancing at his mother. "You'll also try to access your chakra in front of me and you'll do what I say. If you don't follow this then I will stop your training. So change your clothes! And make sure it's comfortable and practical!"

Tsuna smiled widely and without even thinking, he rushed to his uncle and hugged the older man. His uncle stiffened at this before giving him an awkward hug. Tsuna glanced at his mother, who had a soft smile on her face. Normally Tsuna was happy to see that smile but there was something about his mother's smile that just told him she was worried about something. He looked up at his uncle, whose eyes were focused on his mother.

Did something happen for his mama to act so weirdly?

Looking at his uncle's blank expression and his mother's troubled eyes, Tsuna could tell that something had happened for his mama to act like this.

"Since the two of you are going to be busy the whole day, I'm going to visit an _old friend_ ," His mama suddenly said, giving him a small smile before giving a meaningful look to his uncle. His uncle stiffened, curled his lips into a scowl before nodding his head at her. "Tsuna be a good boy to your uncle, listen to all his instruction but most of all try your best."

Tsuna nodded his head and unwrapped his arms from his uncle's chest, twisted his whole body around and watched as his mama jumped out of the couch, made her way to the coat hanger and grabbed her favourite orange coat. She gave them a small smile yet her eyes looked so much like Kakashi-ojiisan, so old and tired that Tsuna realized just how much older his mother was getting.

When he become a shinobi, no, when he become Hokage, Tsuna was going to make sure his mama could rest easy.

* * *

There was one street in Konoha that everyone avoided. Not even a shinobi would try to enter these streets. It was after all a street where murderers lived, a street where the underworld did their work but most of all it was the street that the head of the Yakuza of Konoha lived along with his many members. It was a street filled with so much trouble that only the bravest of people would try to go in there.

It was also the same street that Naru herself grew up in until the age of eight, when the Hokage had found out about her living conditions. It was in this street she made her first bonds, was taught how to fight with her fist but most of all was taught the horrors of the underworld. This was also the same street where she first met Sasuke's father, who had surprisingly didn't yell at her when she tried to pickpocket him.

She shook her head at her memories and gazed at the alleyway, where she could see a couple of teenagers sitting on the benches, talking and smoking as if they had no care for the world. To ordinary pedestrian and even to some shinobi, these kids looked harmless but Naru knew better. These kids were a part of the Yakuza or why else would they wore long sleeved clothes in one of the hottest days of the year? She knew from the way they stood, confident as if nothing in the world could hurt them.

"Oba-san why are you here?" One of the teenagers asked.

"What did you call me brat? I'm not any older than you!" She snapped, glaring at the teenager, who flinched at her gaze. "But if you must know I want to meet with your boss."

"B-Boss?" They glanced at each other before furiously shaking their head. "Oba-san, w-we don't know what you're talking about!"

She sighed. "Do you take me for a fool? I know very well you work for Kajiwara-ojiisan or why else would you be so confident standing here? Now be the good little boys that you are and tell him Naru Uzumaki wants to talk to him."

"Why do you want to meet with the boss? What are you going to do to him! Are you going to arrest him? If you arrest him, we're going to make your life like hell! " They cried, standing up straight and grabbing their weapons from under their coats.

Naru rolled her eyes at this, opened her mouth to argue but stopped when she caught sight of a shadow lurking behind them. They already caught her presence? She thought she had more time before the damn bastard would come but then again these teenagers did blow her cover when they asked her why she was here and she was an idiot to answer them. At least, now she could talk to their boss without any problem.

Well maybe there would be a problem since she really wasn't sure how the old man would react to her being here. He did after all told her to never come back here after she got her headband, warned her if he ever saw her here ever again then he was going to make her life like hell. She snorted as she remembered how he told her to be a good kunoichi, get married and fulfil her dreams after he gave her that warning. That old man had acted so weird that day, well to be fair, the old man was always weird.

"Well if it isn't little Uzumaki-sama!" A man said, coming out of the shadows. "What are you doing here in this part of the village?"

The teenagers stiffened at the voice while Naru groaned and glared at the man, who gave her a haughty smirk before giving the teenagers a dark look. The teenagers gulped and ran towards the direction of their hideout. The man sighed and shook his head before gazing down at her. She stared right back at him, trying to see if the man in front of her had changed. The man in front of her had the same spikey red hair and bright green eyes that screamed trouble and mischief. He didn't seem to change in some aspects of his looks; the only thing that changed about the man was the cross-scar on his cheeks and the tattoos that decorated his arms.

"So why are you here…Uzumaki- _sama_?"

"Drop the Uzumaki-sama, Kenta. We've known each other long enough for you to call me Naru," He grinned at her. "And what the hell have you been doing for those brats to be scared of you? Last time I saw you, you were scaredy cat."

Kenta rolled his eyes. "It's been ten years since you came to this part of town, Naru. Things have changed; I wasn't going to be a scared little boy forever. Now let's get back to business, why the hell are you here? Have you forgotten what my shitty old man told you? If he finds out you're here, hell is going to break loose and everyone in the compound will have to clean up his mess."

"I haven't forgotten what your old man said to me," She said, placing her hands into her coat pockets. "I was going to listen to his orders, it was the only thing I can do to repay him for taking care of me and for stopping every drunk villager that tried coming my way."

"So why the hell are you here?"

"I need to talk to your old man about a few things," Naru answered. "Your old man is the only person I know who can give me the answers I need Kenta."

"My old man has no business with shinobi Naru, you know that! My old man knows almost nothing about the shinobis here; he doesn't even want to do any research on them even the other countries! If we could do research on them…we would get a hell lot more money," Naru grimaced while Kenta smiled. "Don't you worry your pretty blond hair, we will never do blackmail on you after all you were once a part of us."

"If I was once a part of you guys then you will let me meet with your father," Kenta's smile dropped, "Kenta I really need to talk to your old man about a few things. It is to do with my father and his past."

"Why would my father know anything to do with the Yondaime Hokage?" Naru pursed her lips. "My shitty old man hated anything and everything to do with shinobis, the Hokage included! Why on earth would you want to go to him about your father! You know as well as I do the Yondaime Hokage is a sore subject for him."

"Kenta, this is between your father and me and if your father really hated shinobis then why the hell did he let me become one huh?" Kenta scowled at the reminder. "Besides, I think he will want to talk to me once I tell him that I know the lies about my father."

"What lies could the Fourth Hokage make? The damn man was supposed to be perfect in every way! Besides why would you go to my old man about him huh? He isn't going to talk about it no matter how many times you push," Naru bit her lips to prevent herself from scowling and crossed her arms at him, giving him an expectant look. Kenta sighed. "Alright, I'll tell my old man you want to talk to him but don't blame me if he kicks you out for not listening to his orders and don't talk to anyone once you're inside, also don't kill the younger members of the family if they look at you in the wrong way."

"They wouldn't dare would they?"

"Considering the fact that most of them don't know how to even flirt with a female, little alone get them to do it with them, yes they would," Naru rubbed her forehead. "They will probably back off if you tell them if you're taken or something."

"Everyone in this village knows I'm not in a relationship."

"So you and that Uchiha boy aren't dating? Damn and here I thought, I could ask if you could make me the godfather of any kids you guys have," Naru gave him a frosty look, causing the male to hold up his hand in defence. "I'm kidding but I really thought you two were dating seeing how I always caught sight of him playing with your kid and the two of you in that ramen place of yours. Well if you're not dating anyone then why don't you go out with my little brother? It'll make my old man happy."

"Sorry Kenta but my heart is already taken," Kenta chuckled. "Anyways we both know a relationship between your brother and I will never work. You and him were so in love with Mai and I loved the teme, who still haven't seen me as a girl. Anyways back to your love life, anything happen between the two of you? Did you finally ask her out?"

"Mai and me did go on dates but it didn't work out for us," Kenta said, smiling widely at her as he opened the door gates for her. "She wanted a normal life and couldn't handle the idea of dating the son of a Yakuza Boss…probably didn't help my parents didn't approve of her. It was better that way, at least I didn't have to worry about protecting her every time or getting her dragged into this damn dark world. It pissed off my little brother that I let her go and he is trying his hardest to win her heart but she isn't changing her mind about it."

"I'm sorry about that Kenta."

"Love sucks but hey there are other women in the sea," He grinned at her, "In fact, don't tell this to my old man but I'm currently seeing a kunoichi! She's a little bit violent but she has the prettiest green eyes that I have ever seen and she's a nice person even if she can be a bit violent."

"Does she know about all of this?" Naru asked, gesturing to the compound in front of her. "And how the hell did you get involved with a kunoichi? Your father makes sure you guys avoid them."

Kenta rubbed the back of his neck. "I got seriously injured and no one in the family knew how to heal me so they had no choice but to send me there. She was in charge of taking me and I couldn't help but see her again…she was really pretty! And her hair colour was unique too and don't let me get started on her forehead! She's also a total tsundere."

"When did this happen?"

"Today would be our six month anniversary since we met and our one month anniversary since we started dating," He answered, giving her a goofy smile as the two of them entered the compound. "I'll introduce her to you sometime, I think the two of you will get along well. Anyways what about your love life? Who was the bastard who made you a hot little mama and left you alone to raise a kid?"

"I don't think I'm ready to meet a love-sick Kenta. As for the father of my kid, well he doesn't even know he's a father," Kenta raised his eyebrows at her but didn't say anything, instead opening the door for her before giving a nod to the members of the Yakuza, who raised their eyebrows at the sight of her. Some of the older members gave her a wide smile, waved their hands in greeting and tried to make their way to her but only to be stopped by Kenta's glare. "Anyways, on a scale of one to ten, how pissed is the old man going to be to see me here?"

"You want me to lie or tell you the truth?"

"The truth of course."

"I don't know," Kenta answered, running his hand through his red hair. "You're my father's beloved ward and till this day, he still sees you as his daughter even if you weren't related to him in blood. The old man won't admit it but he missed you a lot…you know when the war started, he wanted all of us to join the fight. He also made sure the villagers gave you fresh food once you left the household and he always made sure that someone kept an eye on you and your kid."

"He should visit instead of doing these things, I missed him too. I missed everyone…I missed this family."

This was the first family who took care of her, who showed her kindness when almost everyone showed her hate. This house was where she spent the first twelve years of her life. This house was where her unofficial family lived. The place where she experienced all her other first and had her first bonds. The people here were the first people she knew who she could always trust to have her back when the people of the village might turned her back.

They also had never lied to her but hearing what Sasuke told her, Naru had to wonder just how much of her life was based on lies and secrets.

Hopefully, it wasn't a majority of her life.

* * *

"Sasuke-ojisan, where are we going?" Tsuna asked as they walked passed the Hyuga compound.

His uncle grunted but didn't answer his question, instead increasing his pace. This only caused the younger boy to sigh and quicken his pace. They had passed the training grounds and the Academy's training area, which didn't leave Tsuna many clues on where they were going for their training. These were the only places Tsuna could think where they could do training.

His uncle stopped walking when they reached an abandoned compound. He glanced at his uncle, who pushed opened the doors and gestured for him to move. Tsuna blinked his eyes at the sight in front of him. It was more like a tiny village if you asked Tsuna as he could make out what could only be millions and millions of houses. What the hell was this place? He looked at his uncle, who had an unreadable expression, and then to the millions of houses that lined up.

"Sasuke-ojisan…what's this place?"

"My clan's compound."

Tsuna blinked his eyes and looked wide-eyed at the compound. He didn't know his uncle had a clan. His mama and uncle never talked about it in front of him. Why didn't his uncle mention he had a clan? And why didn't anyone live here? He knew his uncle had no parents and that his brother died but he didn't know about what happened to the rest of his clan. He looked around the compound, taking note on how the buildings looked dusty and worn down.

"Why are we here?"

"Hn. Training of course," His uncle replied, walking towards the biggest house in the compound. "Until you're a genin, we're going to be training in my clan's training ground."

"Does Mama know about this?"

The older male sighed. "Yes, she was the one who insisted you're trained here…away from prying eyes."

"Prying eyes? What does that mean?"

"It means people who have nothing to do except to see you make one small mistake and gossip about it," His uncle answered, shaking his head at him. "Some people have nothing better to do but to gossip…when you're older Tsuna, make sure you avoid those kind of people especially if they're girls."

"What does gossip mean?"

"Gossip is when people like to talk about other people's personal lives to other people," His uncle explained. "It can be very hurtful to the person itself and can cause more problems then it is needed. So if you hear someone gossiping, I want you to question it because half the time it isn't true."

Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows but nodded his head nonetheless at the older man's advice. So was it considered gossip when Mirai told him about Shikamaru-ojisan and Temari-obasan's relationship? He tilted his head at this and compared what Mirai and him did to his uncle's definition before deciding they didn't gossip. He didn't tell anyone what he heard and Mirai only told him about it because he didn't know what dating meant.

Speaking about dating…was his uncle dating his mama?

"Sasuke-ojisan, are you dating mama?" His uncle stopped walking and jerked his head at him, raising his eyebrows at him. "It's just that Mirai-chan says that dating means you're really close friends with each other and that if you date mama then you'll marry mama."

"I'm not dating Naru," His uncle answered, giving him a blank expression. "And you don't have to date someone to be close friends. Dating is when people try to get to know each other and see if they're suitable to be each other partners."

"Oh…so that's why you are not dating mama because you and mama are suited for each other," Sasuke blinked his eyes at this, "So why don't you and mama get married? You live with us and everything and mama loves you!"

His uncle shook his head and ruffled his hair. "I forgot what it's like to be a kid. It isn't as easy as you think it is Tsuna, your mother may love me but it isn't the kind of love that you think it is."

Tsuna puffed his cheeks at this response. He didn't understand why his uncle was making him seem naïve! He knew what his uncle was talking about! And he knew without a doubt his mama loves his uncle but was holding back for some reason. Why must they be stubborn? Why couldn't they do what Shikamaru-ojisan and Temari-obasan was doing? Maybe he should go ask Hinata-obasan about why his mama and uncle weren't going to admit his feelings to each other! His Aunt seemed to know everything that goes on between his mama and uncle!

He nodded his head at this decision and glanced at his uncle, who stopped walking when they reached an empty field behind the big house. Tsuna tilted his head and raised his eyebrow at the older male. His uncle nodded his head at him, signalling they had reached their destination, before placing his sword on the ground.

"Tsuna, sit down."

Tsuna nodded and did as his uncle told him, knowing if he asked questions then his uncle might become irritated with him. He looked up at his uncle, tiled his head at him, which only caused the older male to sigh at him.

"Did Naru teach you how to meditate?"

The young boy shook his head. "Mama says she was going to teach me when I was older, she says I might not be able to do it now because I was too young. She also said it's good for my mind and body if I meditate as well as my con…concentration!"

"Naru actually taught you something right…the world must be ending now," His uncle muttered under his breath. "Well meditating is also good in searching for your chakra."

"Mama never told me that! Why didn't she teach me how to meditate earlier if it can help me access my chakra?"

"She probably didn't even know this since she can be an idiot," Tsuna laughed, causing the older male to curl his lips at him to what almost could be a smile. "Now Tsuna I want you to tell me what do you know about chakra?"

The young boy tilted his head and stared deeply into his uncle's eyes before answering, "I know we use chakra to make cool jutsu but for us to do that, we have to mix our physical and mental energy together since chakra is made from those two energies. I also know that we can increase the amount of chakra that we have."

His uncle nodded his head. "Very good. I'm surprised you know this much about chakra."

"I already read the textbooks from the Academy!" Tsuna ran his hand through his hair. "But it doesn't really tell me much."

"I think it told you more then enough," His uncle stated. "Now I want you to breath slowly and clear any thoughts you have…make sure you don't fall asleep."

Tsuna opened his mouth to ask his uncle about how this was going to suppose to help him access his chakra but closed his mouth when he saw the raised eyebrow from his uncle. Sighing, the brown-haired boy nodded his head at his uncle and closed his eyes as he took in deep breaths.

"To access your chakra requires concentration and awareness of your body," His uncle said gravely, "As you have said earlier, chakra is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy. It is produced in your chakra coil, which is surround and connected to your chakra-producing organs. This energy circulates throughout your body, producing a network. The more technical term would be a chakra pathway system. Everyone's chakra is different Tsuna, for you to find your energy; you need to sense the difference between your blood circulation with that of your chakra. Think of the two circulatory systems in the body as being a big ball of wool; find the one string of wool that is different from the other. "

Tsuna furrowed at his uncle's words but did as his uncle told him. He could feel the sweat forming on his face, running down his cheeks and dripping down to his pants as he tried to picture the wool his uncle was telling him about. The wool in his mind was mostly red, which must be his blood, while there were two other colours in the wool. One of them seemed to be a pale orange colour, drawing him in, while a yellow thread was there.

Which one did he take?

Both of those threads were different and he could feel the both of them running through his veins. One of them felt hot, like a burning fire that seemed ready to consume him while the other energy seemed to be like water.

Taking in a deep breath, he imagined a needle and first grabbed the orange thread that was calling out to him and pushed it in through the needle. Immediately, Tsuna could feel some kind of fire coming out of his hand. Opening his eyes, he looked at his hands and blinked at the sight of a orange flame before glancing up at his uncle, who had an unreadable expression in his face.

"Tsuna…how did you do that?"

"I did what you told me to do, I imagined a ball of wool but there were three colours in it Sasuke-ojisan!" His uncle nodded and stared at his hands, giving it a thoughtful look before glancing at him. "Did I do something wrong Sasuke-ojisan? I didn't know which one to pick! Both of them were different…and I didn't know which one to choose!"

"You didn't do anything wrong Tsuna," His uncle ruffled his hair. "I didn't even take the time to even think you might be able to do this. Very few shinobis can do what you just did…and all the shinobi who could do what you just did are very strong shinobis."

"Really? So does this mean that I'm going to be a very strong shinobi like Mama and you?"

The black-haired male had a thoughtful look on his face and nodded his head. "We'll see about that Tsuna, you still need to be able to access your chakra and those flames of yours will do you no good if you don't learn how to control it or how to train yourself in it."

"Are you going to train me on how to use it?"

"I will teach you on how to use those flames but we need to keep it a secret from your mother until I know more about those flames," His uncle informed him, giving him a far away look before saying softly to himself. "I never thought I would actually have to make contact again with those bastards! And didn't my father say he could make violet flames while the Yondaime made sky flames? I thought he was joking about it! And what the hell are those flames?"

Tsuna simply frowned at his uncle, not understanding what the older male was talking about. What did he meant by violet flames and orange flames? And why was he talking about their family? And how come his uncle didn't know what these flames are? Wasn't the older male supposed to know everything? He tilted his head, gazed at his uncle and then to the house in front of them. Why did Tsuna have the bad feeling that by accessing this flame he had changed something? He shook his head.

It didn't matter because these flames meant he was just as special as his mother and uncle.

Nodding his head, Tsuna went back to trying to find his energy while his uncle stared at him with a blank expression. For now Sasuke decided to keep this discovery between himself and Tsuna because if he told Naru what Tsuna had just did, the young woman was going to stress herself out as she tried to figure out why her supposedly adopted son had the same flame colours as her or how he even figured out how to do it.

No, he would have to tell her after he found out more about these flames because something told him that the flames Tsuna and Naru could produce spoke of trouble and he made a vow to keep his friends and family safe from everything.

* * *

Looking around the office, Naru couldn't help but noticed how the room hadn't changed much in the past twelve years since she left. There was still a photo of a baby Kenta and her as well as the head of the Yakuza and his wife's wedding pictures along with the picture of the whole family. She smiled widely when she spotted her younger self-grinning widely at the camera, poking out her tongue while her arm was wrapped around Kenta and his younger brother, both of them scowling at her for her action.

Was it really twelve years ago since she left this house?

"My eldest brat told me you threatened to destroy any chance of him having kids if I don't meet with you. If it wasn't for the fact this family needs heirs, I would have ignored your request. Now why the hell did you come here brat?" An old man called out, drawing her attention to the door. "I told you if you came here after becoming a shinobi, I would cut off your finger!"

Naru smiled sheepishly and stared at the old man in front of her. Kajiwara, also known affectionately to her as Kajiwara-ojisan, hadn't changed a lot since she left this household. He still had that vibrant red hair his son inherited, only having a few streaks of grey hair and having wrinkles around his eyes and stress lines on his forehead but what always stood out about the man in front of her was the scar on his right eye and the lion tattoo on his arm.

"I was going to listen to you old man but something came to my attention and I need you to confirm my suspicion."

"I don't do any dealings with shinobis or civilians of this village." Kajiwara snapped.

Naru scowled. "Who said I was talking about the shinobi or the civilians of this damn village! I know damn well old man you don't do any dealings with the citizens of this village!"

"If you know that then there's no business for you to be here!" He retorted, taking a seat on the chair. "Kids these days don't even think about your reputation! How do you expect to find a good father to your brat if people find out you are here? You never think about these things!"

The blonde narrowed her eyes. "First off, old man don't you dare bring Tsu-kun into this! And second off, Tsuna does have a father and that father is Sasuke! And who cares about finding a good husband! I can take care of myself damn well."

The red-haired man shook his head. "Take care of yourself damn well huh brat? Tell me if you took care of yourself damn well then you wouldn't have end up getting pregnant without the father of that child helping you! Fugaku's son isn't good enough for you to be your brat's father!"

"Why the hell are we talking about my family life! I didn't come here to argue with you about him! And anyways I decide who is good enough for me and frankly Sasuke is more then good enough for me! You aren't my damn father to criticise him!" The red-haired male crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows at her. "Anyways back to the topic, I came here to talk to you about…"

"If it's money then I ain't lending you any brat! I taught you and my sons on how to handle money so if you spent all your life savings then I'm not going to lend a brat who wastes money, more money! I don't care how wonderful the technology is, if it isn't useful then don't waste your damn money on it!"

"I don't want to borrow money from you, you stingy old man! And did Ichiro wasted his money again on something useless! Wait a second why the hell am I asking you this! I came here to talk to you about the Yondaime Hokage, my father!"

The old man snorted. "I didn't know the Yondaime Hokage brat."

 _He's lying,_ a voice whispered in Naru's mind as she stared at the older male's brown eyes, which held no emotions. Normally she ignored the small voice but this time Naru was fed up with ignoring the voice since her whole life was based on ignoring it. If she hadn't ignored it the first time then maybe she would have called out Sasuke on his lie about not caring about her and made him stayed the first time around. If she hadn't ignored that voice then maybe it wouldn't have hurt as deeply when she realized there might have been a connection between the old man in front of her and her father.

"Don't take me for an idiot old man, I know you know my father! I know you know where the hell my father came from!"

For a brief few seconds there was an alarmed expression on the Yakuza boss' face but the man quickly turned it into a blank expression. Naru narrowed her eyes at him. "So you do know where the hell my father came from!"

"I don't know what you're talking about brat. You should get going before I ask the guards to escort you out!"

"Please Kajiwara-ojisan tell me the truth about my father," The old man blinked his eyes and opened his mouth to argue with her, "I know my father wasn't born here! I know he was taken in by the Uchiha clan! And I know his name wasn't Namikaze Minato but Sawada Minato. In the past ten years since I became a shinobi, not once did I ever bother you! I never asked you for much so can you at least tell me what you know about my father!"

Kajiwara blinked his eyes, pursed his thin lips and stared at the wedding picture before glancing at the baby picture of her. He gazed deeply into her eyes, allowing her to see just how tired and weary the man was from his job. "First tell me how did you figure out I know about your father and tell me how you found out about the truth about his name," Naru raised her eyebrow at him, "I will deny knowing Namikaze Minato since he never really existed no matter how much Sawada tried to deny it but I will acknowledge I knew a Sawada Minato."

"Sasuke and me were talking about my son and the topic of my father came up," She sighed. "I told him I didn't even know where the hell my father came from…he just came to this place at the age of eight! I thought the bastard was going to tell me to confront Kakashi about it…"

"The brat told you to confront me!"

"The bastard never told me to confront you about him, he just told me that in his father's journals that his dad found him, his great-grandmother ordered they took him in and that my dad's name isn't even Namikaze Minato and did I mention he had a connection with the Yakuza?" Naru finished, giving him a sweet smile that everyone who knew her meant trouble.

He sighed. "I told Fugaku to burn those books of his but no he wanted to document everything. Now I can't even face your father when I die!"

"What do you mean you can't face my old man when you die?"

"He didn't want you to find out about his last name! He wanted you as well as anyone who wasn't close to him not to know what his real name was!He hated his last name, didn't want anyone to know it! He hated it since it's associated with the underworld."

"You never mentioned the last name Sawada in any of your meetings! And not once in my career did I ever hear the mention of that name."

"Who ever said that the name Sawada belonged to the Yakuza?" He asked her, walking towards the mini fridge. He pulled out a bottle of sake, grabbed the nearest cups from the table beside the fridge before placing it in front of her. "You are going to need a strong drink while I tell you what I know but don't blame me if you regret learning about your father's past."

"It couldn't be that bad, my father came here at the age of eight."

The man sighed. "And he had his first kill at the age of six! Didn't I tell you brat that no matter how young a person looked, they're still dangerous? Look at your sensei, by the time he was twelve he had already killed more then fifty people. Your father was no different, he could kill people without a problem or why else would he had no problem murdering a thousand shinobi in one night?"

"It was war!"

"Doesn't change the fact he was able to kill so many men in one night, not even the most experience shinobis could do what your father did," He gulped down the sake, "Considering which family he was in and the unit he was in, it wasn't surprising."

"Family? You said he wasn't a part of the Yakuza."

"You went over the veil brat right?" She nodded. "And you know there's a whole another world out there. Just like there's another world, there's also different underground organisation. The Yakuza is just one of them, there is also…"

"The Triad," The older male raised his eyebrow at her, "Sasuke got involved with them by accident. They're bunch of bastards if you asked me."

"Of course they're, most of them have no honour," The man muttered. "I don't even want to know how Fugaku's kid got involved with them or how he even dragged you into this."

"He didn't drag me into it, he tried to stop me from meeting them!" Naru snapped. "Now tell me what do those organisation have to do with my father?"

The old man snorted. "It all have to do with your father and you too since if they find out you're his kid, they would drag you and your boy into their shit."

"What do you mean?"

"Tell me Naru, what do you know about the Italian Mafia?" Naru furrowed her eyebrows and the man sighed. "Not much I can see. Listen to me brat and listen to me good because I'm going to say this once. The Mafia is an underground organisation found in Italy and many other countries just like how the Yakuza not only operate here but also Japan and the other Asian countries. Your old man was a part of the strongest family in the Mafia world, the Vongola Family, who are like what our family are to the Yakuza, royalty. Your father along with his cousins are seen as royalty to the Mafia, if his cousins died then he would have been the one to inherit it."

Naru felt her blood froze and without even thinking, she drank one cup of sake. "And how did you know he was a part of that family? He changed his name when he entered the academy!"

"You can change your name but you can't change your looks, your father looked too much like the founder of the Vongola family that my old man would have been an idiot not to realize who he was," He poured another cup of sake, "He knew that too so in order to make sure my father doesn't spill about his whereabouts, he made sure to tell us where our enemies would target…don't ask me how he knew because I don't know! I just know if it wasn't for Sawada then my wife would have been dead."

"Why did he want to avoid the Vongola family?"

"He hated the family and what they forced him to do…doesn't that give him enough reason to run away? If I wasn't the heir of the family I would have done the same thing," Kajiwara stated. "Who the hell wants to be in the Mafia or Yakuza? Most of the time we are bastards who nine out of the ten times have no sense of honour. He wanted to be free from their association and knew very well if something were to happen to his cousins, he would have to become the Vongola's heir. He didn't want that so he ran away."

"That is something a coward would do!"

"It's called I don't want my life to be dictated by other people," Kajiwara retorted. "Your father may have looked like a girl, was too peaceful at times and always had a smug look on his face but I can't call him a coward. If he was a coward, he wouldn't have come to my house and threatened my old man. If I was scary to you, my old man was ten times worse."

"Did he ask you to take me in?" Naru asked, changing the subject.

"He did as soon as he found out your mother was pregnant," Naru furrowed her eyebrows at this, "I think in some weird way that old man of yours knew that your mother and him weren't going to make it to see your birth."

"Why didn't he let me be raised by the Uchiha clan? From what I gathered in Sasuke father's journals, they wouldn't have mind taking me in."

"Of course they wouldn't since it would give them a chance to marry you off to one of their heirs," He said angrily. "With your chakra levels and you being the Hokage's daughter, they would have taken you in and make you marry one of Fugaku's kid. Fugaku, Minato and me were on the same page when we decided he couldn't take you in, no matter how much of an asshole Fugaku was, I couldn't deny he knew when to do the right thing. That man cared for your father like a brother and knew that if he took you in then Minato's worries about you being unhappy would come true. So we decided that I decided to take you in since no one would dare to bother a ward of the Yakuza's boss."

"Didn't the Sandaime Hokage try to stop you from raising me? I mean I doubt he would have wanted a little girl to be raised in a Yakuza's household."

"He did but I was able to _kindly_ ask him to let me raise you." He smirked.

"You threatened the Sandaime! How the hell are you still even alive!" Naru poured herself another glass of sake and gulped it down in one sitting. "You always told Kenta never to threaten shinobi yet you threatened the strongest shinobi at the time."

"If it was to make sure you were raised under my house then I would have threatened that old geezer a thousand times," The red-haired man sighed, "The things I did for you child."

"You only did it because you owed my father a debt."

"I did but it didn't mean I had to take in some snot-nose brat," He pointed out to her. "Besides I fulfilled his debt a long time ago when I made certain to erase any evidence anyone had that your father wasn't Namikaze Minato."

"Did my mother know about this? Did she know my father wasn't Namikaze Minato and that he was a part of all this?"

"You think your old man wouldn't tell the love of his life about his past life as a Mafioso? Your father was many things but he wasn't an idiot," The two of them took another gulp of her sake, "He always said a relationship couldn't be base on lies but on the truth. He loved your mother a lot and wanted her to know the dangers their relationship could bring if someone on the other side of the veil came."

"How do you know all of this?"

"He came to me drunk and kept babbling about how he was going to tell Kushina-chan about the truth,"Kajiwara sighed. "Your father also told me to make sure you and any kids you have don't get involved with the underworld. He said he didn't want your choice to be taken away from you or be forced to do things that will make you hate yourself."

"Was that why you kicked me out of the house?"

"I would be an idiot to not listen to your old man's wish," The two drank another cup of sake. "If you had stayed with me any longer then I wouldn't have any choice but to make you become one of us or make you marry one of my sons since everyone would have talked about why you were living here and not a part of the yakuza. So I kicked you out…it seemed to have done you some good, you are a powerful shinobi, have an adorable son and a man that love you."

"We're not in that kind of relationship."

"You don't have to be dating someone to love them," He slurred. "If he didn't love you then why is the damn brat helping you raise that little boy! He should have asked my permission to be even allowed to stay in the same house as you!"

"He doesn't need permission and he's only helping me because he feels guilty!" Naru grumbled, walking unsteadily towards the door. "Despite what everyone thinks, Sasuke doesn't love me like that…he doesn't love me like the way I loved him. I loved that idiot for the past ten years but not once did he ever looked at me like I'm girl! And Sakura-chan loves him so I can't be with him even if I wanted."

Kajiwara stared at her and gave her a knowing look before slumping his shoulders at her. Naru sighed and opened the door, glancing at Kenta, who seemed to have been standing outside the door for god knew how many hours. He had a guilty look on his face as he stared down at her blue eyes and usually Naru would ask him what the hell he did to be guilty but she felt happy for some strange reason…and was there two Kenta in front of her? Great, she was going to have double the trouble.

Not that she needed it because she already was in trouble for being in love with Sasuke and taking Tsuna away from his real mother.

Maybe she should ask Kajiwara-ojisan if she could have another bottle of sake.

* * *

Sasuke had left Tsuna's room after making sure the little boy was fast asleep before he heard someone knocking very loudly at the door. Shaking his head, the black-haired man slowly made his way to the door, knowing that there was only one person who would dare to knock that loudly. The dobe only ever knocked the door that loudly if she forgot her damn keys again but she would be yelling and demanding he opened the door for her, not just knock loudly at the door.

Grimacing, the black-haired man opened the door and was taken back at the sight of a familiar redhead man holding Naru, who had a goofy smile on her face. He raised his eyebrows at the redhead, who sighed. "She went to talk to my father and ended up drinking with him as they talked Sasuke," he explained, placing the blond-haired woman in his arms. "I didn't do anything to her Sasuke…that girl is like my younger sister and I already have a girlfriend so there's nothing to worry about! Please don't kill me!"

"Out of all the members of the Yakuza, I trust you not to touch her," Sasuke retorted, controlling himself from blushing when the blond-haired woman hugged him tightly. "I'll take care of her…tell Sakura I say hi."

"Who says I'm going to meet her now? And how did you know I'm dating her?"

"I saw the two of you in her favourite restaurant and she admit to me she was dating you," Kenta grinned. "She only told me this because she wanted me to know she had moved on from me…that was only yesterday."

"Still she admits we're dating and it was hard for me to even get her to admit she liked me!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's better than having her stalked you…I don't need to tell you what Naru and I will do to you if you break her heart or anything of that sort right?"

Kenta paled and shook his head before rushing out of the door, causing the male to chuckle before looking down at Naru, who had a dazed expression on her face. Swinging her arm around his shoulder, Sasuke started to take her towards her room. He ignored her as she babbled about how she was a terrible person for taking Tsuna from his real mother. He stopped walking when Naru tugged his shirt.

He looked down at Naru, who tilted her head at him, giving him a view of her tanned neck and he silently groaned at the blonde for doing this to him. Why did Kenta give him a drunk Naru to deal with? It was bad enough he had to live with a sober Naru. "What's it Naru?"

"Sasuke…do you like me?"

"You're my friend," He stated. "If you weren't my friend then I wouldn't be doing this for you would I?"

"I mean do you see me as a woman or do you see me as one of the guys? Do you love me like how a man loves a woman or do you love me like I'm a member of your family?"

Sasuke froze at this sudden question, opening and closing his mouth as he tried to figure out what to tell her. Does he tell her the truth or does he lie? If he told her the truth then would she remember it? And why was she asking this now? He should be the one asking her this! She always spoke about that ex-lover of hers in front of him. Not once did she ever consider his feelings about the matter. He mentally shook his head. This wasn't something he should even be thinking.

"Naru, you're not in the right state of mind to ask me these questions."

"I'm in the right state of mind!" She giggled. "Right state of mind, that sounds kind of funny doesn't it? I mean everything I know about my father is a lie. My whole life is based on a lie! The dad I was so proud of turned out to be a part of the Mafia and had started killing people since he was six! My _real, real_ last name is practically royalty in the Mafia world! And the man I love doesn't see me as a woman. Why the hell don't you see me as a woman? Is it because I talk like a guy?"

"Naru, I didn't say anything. You're drunk and I can't answer your questions!" Naru pouted. "Why the hell are you pouting? I should be the one asking you these questions, you don't seem to see me as a man!"

"I know Sasuke is a man, I'm not blind," She laughed. "Still you can pass off as a girl…hey Sasuke, if I was a guy and you were a girl, I would have asked you out immediately instead of waiting for you to do it. I would have tried to make you fall for me…maybe I should try to make you see me as a woman! If I make you see me as a woman, would you like me the way I like you?"

"Naru…"

The blonde hugged him tightly, letting him smell the familiar scent of her orange shampoo. "I'm an idiot to like the same guy for the past ten years," he froze at her admission, "Am I an idiot for liking you for the past ten years? If you really don't like me Sasuke…is it ok if I kiss you? Just one time! It'll almost be like our first kiss except this time I really want to kiss you!"

Sasuke gulped. "Dobe, you don't know what you're saying and I like you Naru."

"Do you like me like a sister or do you like me the way a guy likes a girl? Because I like Sasuke the way a girl like a guy, I always did," Sasuke could feel the blood rushing into his ears and he tried to remind himself that Naru was drunk and would not remember anything if he did anything to her. "So why can't you see me as a woman?"

"I do see you as a woman dobe," He muttered, looking away from her.

"Prove it! Kiss me!"

"You don't know what you're saying dobe."

"I do!"

"You're drunk and upset! I'm not going to take advantage of you! Ask me again when you're sober!"

"So you don't see me as a woman!"

"I'm not blind dobe! I see you as a woman!"

"Then prove it to me!"

Sasuke groaned and without even thinking he pressed his lips against her, delighting in the softness of her lips. He waited for her to push him away, to tell him she changed her mind about this. He expected her to freeze and tell him this was mistake they shouldn't be doing, to tell him to stop. But that all went to hell when a orange tasting sigh crawled up her throat and vibrated against his lips, Sasuke could only groaned and captured the noise, swallowing it as his lips moved languorously over hers.

He needed to stop or else they might end up doing something they would regret.

Yet he found that he couldn't stop himself especially when Naru parted her lips and he took immediate advantage by sliding his tongue into the warmth of her mouth. He kept himself from moaning when his teammate slid her tongue forward, touching his. He had dreamt of this for years now, from the depths of Orochimaru's lair to the late nights when he was putting Tsuna to bed but especially during the whole year he spent away from her and Tsuna.

Slowly pulling away from the blonde, Sasuke could see the flushed and dazed expression on her face and a part of him wondered if he would remember if she would remember this tomorrow. He turned his head away when Naru tried to pull him for another kiss, which caused the girl to pout at him and he gazed down at her.

"Naru, this is as far as I can go with you," He took in a deep breath of her scented hair. "If we do anything further then this, I'll not restraint myself and the two of us will both regret our actions."

"You like me right?"

"I wouldn't even kiss you if I didn't like you dobe."

"Then there's nothing wrong, I won't regret it Sasuke!"

He was going to go to hell for this but he was going to think about it in the morning.

In the morning, they would deal with the consequence and he would have to tell her that her son had somehow produced flames without the use of chakra.

* * *

Questions and Answers:

 **Will Tsuna return to Namimori and meet the others?**

Yes, Tsuna will go back to Namimori around the time Reborn will come to Namimori to train his younger brother. There will be no shonen-ai in this story.

 **Is Minato Iemitsu's cousin, brother or Uncle?**

In chapter two, Iemitsu mentioned about having a cousin that Tsuna had taken after, that cousin was Minato so Minato is Iemitsu's older cousin.

 **Can Naru technically inherit the Vongola Family?**

Yes, Naru if she wanted can technically inherit the Vongola Family as she also has Giotto blood flowing in her.

 **How did Minato get to the Elemental Countries?**

That will be revealed in a different arc but how he got there is going to be an interesting story to tell since it might be surprising to some.

 **Will Naru learn how to use flames?**

We will see if she is going to learn how to use flames since I'm not really certain if I want to make her learn how to use them.

 **What kind of barrier separates the two worlds?**

I can't reveal it now but you will find out when Tsuna goes back to Namimori.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review and tell me what you think.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows.

* * *

The first thing Naru noticed when she woke up was the fact she wasn't in her room in the house. She didn't know which room in the house she was in, except the room had a bed which only left two options: Sasuke's room or the guest room since she knew for certain Tsuna's room had posters of his favourite manga and the Hokages. With the lack of painting on the walls and the lack of junk that was usually piled up in the guest room, Naru guessed she was in Sasuke's room.

She groaned as she felt her head pounding, reminding her of the fact she had drank too much alcohol in one sitting. Rubbing the sides of her head, Naru gazed out at the window where she could see the birds on their benches, tweeting and chirping as if to remind her it was morning. Why did birds have to chirp so loudly? Couldn't they be nice little kind birds and not chirp? She had a terrible headache for god sake and don't let her get started about the damn fact her whole body felt so god damn sore. What the hell did she do last night for her body to become like this?

Naru rubbed her arms as the cool air from the air condition tickled her. Why the hell was the room this cold? Sasuke usually never kept the room this cold before, he usually complains in his own way about how she loved the cold too much. Was it in Japan or England when they had an argument about what the temperature in the heater should be? She sighed, well it didn't matter because she just needed to find the remote and everything would be fine again.

Rubbing her arm, Naru looked around the bed to find the remote and grinned when she saw it was on the other side of the bed. Stretching her arm, she snatched the remote but stopped when she finally noticed the distinct lack of shirtsleeve. She blinked and blinked, gazed down to her naked torso before yelling out loud, "What the hell did I do last night?"

Flinging the remote away, Naru looked under the cover and flushed red at the distinct lack of clothes before quietly praying someone kill her. What did she do last night for this to happen? Did she and Sasuke…? No of course not because the bastard wouldn't do anything like that to her but it did explain the soreness in her body. She shook her head furiously. It could be the case she did something stupid again, like trying to do some stretches on a pole again. She had done those types of things when she was drunk.

" _If we do anything further then this, I'll not restraint myself."_

She remembered dimly him saying those words to her after getting the bastard to kiss her, after admitting her feelings to him and telling him she wasn't going to regret a damn thing if they did it. Blood started to rush to her cheek as more memories from the night before rushed into her mind, telling her what she exactly did to Sasuke for her to end up in that situation. She remembered going to his room, worrying about waking up Tsuna and how the older boy reminded her of how son slept like the dead. She felt herself become even redder as she remembered her impatience and the number of times they did it.

Apparently, Sasuke was a masochist in bed.

"You're finally awake, I was afraid I was going to need pour water on you like I used to do whenever you slept in during the meetings," Naru blinked her eyes at the sight of Sasuke leaning against the door and wondered when the older boy came in, "Also breakfast is on the table."

"You made breakfast? You didn't burn the eggs again did you? Because I don't want Tsuna to get food poisoning from your awful cooking," Naru said automatically, causing the boy to roll his eyes at her. She narrowed her eyes at him. "Why the hell are you rolling your eyes at me for? Do you not remember how in Beijing, you nearly burned our apartment down because you didn't know how long it takes for rice to cook!"

"It was just one time."

"It was the first and last time I ever allowed you near the stove," Sasuke snorted. "Till this day I wonder how the hell did you survive with your awful cooking skills."

"I should say the same for you, what the hell were you thinking getting drunk last night?" Naru flinched at the reminder. "I thought you were just going to meet the boss of the Yakuza, not to get wasted! You're lucky that brat of yours wasn't awake or else how was I going to explain why you were talking about the mafia or about his biological mum."

She scratched her head. "I…talked about the mafia last night?"

"You did, you also kissed me and told me you have been in love with me for the last ten years," Naru groaned causing the older male to smirk, "And made me kiss you again even though I told you it was a bad idea…and you know what that action of yours led us to do."

"You didn't even try to stop me you bastard! It takes two to do the tango or whatever shitty saying goes, you also have some part to play with us having sex," Naru reminded him. "Besides do you really regret it because I remember you…"

"I didn't regret it." He quickly said. "I didn't regret one bit of it."

Naru blinked and blinked her eyes at hearing these words from him, uncertain on whether or not he was being serious about it or if he was being his usual asshole self and teasing her. With that wicked smirk in his face, she would think he was being an asshole but there was something in his eyes which told her the sincerity behind his words. She nearly laughed at this. Sasuke being sincere…how many years had it been she last seen him being sincere to her? Had it been five years ago since he apologized to her for his actions? No, when he told her she could do better than Reborn.

She shook her head and stared at the raven-haired man, who gazed right back at her. "What are we going to do now Sasuke?" Sasuke blinked his eyes and raised his eyebrow at her. "We did it but is it going to be just a one time thing only? Or are we going out on dates and do all those weird things that couples do? And where's Tsuna? He usually tries to wake me up by now."

"Tsuna is downstairs, reading The Tale of the Utterly Gutsy Shinobi while he is waiting for Mirai to come so they can go to school," Sasuke answered, "The brat nearly tried to wake you up but I told him you were sick and you didn't want him to get a cold so instead he asked me if I could wake you up instead."

"He begged you didn't he? You only ever call him brat when he used his cuteness to make you do his bidding."

"I don't do anyone's bidding." The male said stiffly. "He just gave me his big brown eyes and asked me kindly to wake you up."

"He begged you and you couldn't say no, you can admit it Sasuke! You're not the first adult to fall for my cute son's puppy dog look," Sasuke groaned, causing Naru to smile but her smile quickly disappear as she remembered the topic at hand: their status. "Look Sasuke, what the hell are we? Are we dating or is this a one night thing?"

"If it was a one night thing dobe then I wouldn't have taken you to my bed and made you scream my name over and over again," Naru flushed red at this and opened her mouth to yell at him but closed it when he held his hand up at her, "I will tell you again what I told you last night, I like you. Do you think I'm still the kind of guy who would use his teammate like that? Do you think I would have helped you raise a kid without feeling anything? Or trying to stop you from going on dates?"

"What are you trying to say?"

He smirked, took a seat on the bed, gazed at her blue eyes and stated. "Must I spell it out for you dobe? I already told you didn't I? I like you or why else would I have sex with you? I may want to rebuild my clan and the only person I can see myself doing it with is you. You're the only woman I can see myself doing this with. Do you think I followed you to all those countries without any feelings? I've always cared and respect you. It still mystify me how your stupidity haven't made you realize this much."

For a brief few seconds Naru just stared at the older man, unable to process what he had just said to her and when she finally realized he had insulted her in his speech, she grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him, grinning when it slammed against his face. He growled and threw the pillow back at her, smirking when the pillow hit her. She narrowed her eyes at him and proceeded to throw the pillow at him. It didn't matter if the bastard admitted he like her, what matter was the fact he called her stupid! Who the hell called the girl they are in love with, stupid? Not even Reborn did that and the man while charming could be really blunt when he wanted to be.

If this was how Sasuke acted with her, she would hate to think how he would have treated Sakura-chan.

Sakura…

Wait a second, Sakura! What was she going to say to her? How was she going to explain about this?

"What about Sakura? She's been in love with you longer then I was," Naru finally said. "It's going to break her heart and I can't do that to her! She's my friend."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "She's dating someone else and even then, it's none of her business who I date."

"What! When?"

"You must be blind not to notice how our teammate have been sneaking around and giving excuses on why she didn't want to hang out with us," Naru frowned and raised her eyebrow at him. Sasuke sighed. "I caught her on a date a few days ago and she admitted she had been going out with this guy for the past month. She told me she was going to get over me because she realized no matter how hard she tries, my feelings for her will never change."

Was it wrong for her to be happy to hear these words? She shouldn't be happy her friend had given up on Sasuke but a small selfish part of her was glad for the woman to give up on their teammate? But what if Sakura was going to accuse her of stealing her Sasuke-kun like they did when they were kids, what did she do then? She couldn't handle it if Sakura accuse her for this after all she was one of her few female friends. Could she really deny her feelings for Sasuke again after what they did? There shouldn't be anything wrong if Sakura said she moved on but what did she say to Tsuna? Was he going to be sad she was in a relationship with Sasuke? She wouldn't know with how the boy would bottle his emotions up to her.

She took in a deep breath as she tried to figure out what to say but it seemed like she didn't need to say anything because Sasuke gave her a smirk before pressing his lips against her. She froze for a few seconds before kissing him back, closing her eyes as she allowed herself to give in to the pent up feelings.

Maybe just maybe, she was going to be all right Naru thought to herself as Sasuke pushed her back on the bed.

* * *

"Hi Kakashi-ojisan!"

Stopping in his tracks, Kakashi twisted his body around and nearly smiled at the familiar sight of Tsuna and Mirai walking towards him with radiant smile on their faces as they chatted with each other. Tsuna, who looked too much like his deceased sensei that it hurt for Kakashi to look at him, was arguing with the older girl about how she was supposed to use the prefix-sama instead of –ojisan while the older girl retorted he was their uncle first and their Hokage second.

It amused him how the girl didn't act anything like her mother and father, only seemingly to inherit Kurenai's good looks and Asuma's blunt personality while Tsuna acted more like his grandfather then his mother and grandmother with his politeness and perceptiveness. The only thing the boy inherited from his mother was her ambition, having declared to him whenever they meet that he was going to become Hokage just like him.

He shook his head at his thoughts and stared at the smiling kids, who had a bright hopeful smile as they looked at him. "Aren't you two supposed to be going to school?" he asked them, remembering how it was only yesterday he opened the opening ceremony, "Ma, ma, you should go to school before Iruka comes here and drag you back to lessons."

"We're on our way to school Kakashi-sama," Tsuna stated, "And shouldn't you be in the office doing the paperwork you hate? Mama says if you don't finish a job right away then it's going to be a problem later and then you can't have fun."

"Does she tell you this to make sure you do the chores?"

"That's Sasuke-ojisan, Mama tells me that whenever I try to make her play with me then do those paper things you give her to do. She says if she finishes it then this problem is gone and she can only play with me!"

"Kaa-chan says that to me whenever I don't want to do the dishes," Mirai added. "I wish I have Naru-obachan as my mum even if I finish my chores, Kaa-chan doesn't play with me as much as Naru-obachan plays with you!"

If someone asked him five years ago, no ten years ago if Naru Uzumaki could ever become responsible, his immediate response would have been a straight flat-out no but having a kid could change even the most irresponsible person. If it wasn't for the little boy in front of him, Kakashi would never think Naru would do her reports in the right fashion or be punctual about it but seeing as Naru was mostly raising the boy by herself, it would be fair to say she had to learn how to grow up.

"So you think I should do my paperwork then Tsuna-kun?"

Tsuna tilted his head and looked at him with wide brown eyes before nodding his head, giving him a small smile that just reminded him of his deceased sensei. Every time the boy gave him that kind of smile, Kakashi had to stop himself from crying and apologizing to his sensei for not doing a better job of taking care of his daughter, of following his wishes and not letting her know the truth about her father's real heritage. However an order was an order and his order was to make sure Naru never got hurt or got involved with anyone to do with his sensei's past.

He was the last person alive in his sensei's small group of guardians that could do this.

"Hey Kakashi-ojisan…your sensei was the Fourth Hokage right?" Mirai asked, snapping him from his train of thought. He nodded his head and the girl tilted her head, stared at Tsuna and then back at him before continuing, "What was he like as a person? He didn't have any girly qualities like Tsuna did he?"

"I don't have any girly qualities Mirai-chan! Take that back!"

"You have a girly face," Tsuna flushed red, "And until a week ago, your punches was just like a girl."

"Well you act like a boy!"

"I don't!"

"Yes you do!"

Kakashi chuckled and watched as the two little kids argue about whether or not they acted like their gender while the pedestrians around them, simply giggled at the little boy and girl argument. It had been a long time since he laugh like that, the last time being two years ago when he entered his ex-student's house and caught sight of Sasuke trying to figure out how to change Tsuna's diapers while Naru was out on a mission. The boy had been peed on by Tsuna and had looked so lost in trying to figure out which way the diaper went. It was a pity he hadn't taken a camera with him because Kakashi would have looked at it whenever this job became too much for him.

He shook his head and stared at the two kids, marvelling again how much Tsuna looked like his sensei. It was normal for a grandson to look like his grandfather but the boy looked more and more like a younger version of his sensei as each year passed, the only thing the boy must have inherited from his father was his hair and eye colour, everything else just spelled Namikaze, no Sawada because his sensei was never really called Namikaze Minato.

"Oi! Kakashi-ojisan, are you going to tell us about the Fourth Hokage? What was he like?" Mirai asked, snapping him from his train of thought. "He must have been so cool right? He wasn't clumsy like Tsuna was he?"

"I'm not clumsy," Tsuna muttered, pouting at the older girl.

Mirai simply cracked a smile at him, leading to the boy smiling widely at her. Kakashi shook his head at the pair interactions, wondering how those two could be the best of friends and yet insult each other. Then again, Naru and Sasuke was the same and they were doing alright now.

"So what was he like Kakashi-sama?"

"He was a very kind person," Kakashi allowed his eyes to stare at his sensei's head as he allowed the memories of the past to overcome him. "He would help anyone that was in trouble and never asked for anything in return. If there was one thing the people in this village knew for certain, if there were any problems and you needed it to be fixed then going to him was the best idea. He hated fighting and if he could avoid it, he would. Minato-sensei like Naru accepted everyone, he never thought if someone was different then he should avoid them. He also couldn't cook to save his life and that's it!"

"Come on Kakashi-ojisan tell us more about him! We don't know anything about him except the fact he died the same day Naru-obachan was born," Mirai said, giving him a pleading look. "I mean what was he to you? He wasn't just a helpful person to you was he?"

What was his sensei like to him? His sensei was so many things to him. The Fourth Hokage wasn't just his sensei or commander; he had almost been like an older brother Kakashi could always count on. If Kakashi had been lightening then his sensei had been the sky, drawing him and so many other people in to his fold. His sensei before his father's death had always been the one to try to cheer him up whenever he cried and had never once tried to make him open up his feelings after his father committed suicide.

All his sensei did after he heard what happened to his father was simply hugged him and told him the people who abandoned his father were cowards.

Kakashi hadn't believed him then but after Obito supposed death, Rin dying and losing his brother figure, the silver-haired man started to believe the truth behind his words. Sometimes, he wondered if his sensei was proud of the man he had become or if he was disappointed in him for not helping Naru sooner. If he had argued with the Third Hokage more, then would Naru had been raised by him instead of going to the Yakuza's boss, who kicked his sensei's daughter out of the household after only twelve years of raising her.

"He was like an older brother to me, he teased me whenever a girl tried to tell me they like me and always tried to give me some advice even if it was stupid," Mirai and Tsuna blinked their eyes at him. "He accepted anyone into his house and had strong belief on what was right or wrong. He also loved to sing off pitch whenever he did the chores and always get flustered when Kushina-neechan came over to our house."

"What else…"

"Mirai-chan, I think that's enough question," Tsuna spoke out, giving him a small smile that told him more then enough the boy understood how painful it was for him to talk about his sensei. "If we keep asking him questions, we'll be late for class and Iruka-sensei will be very angry with us."

"It's only our second day of school, he won't be that angry with us."

"A good ninja must always be punctual," Kakashi spoke out, ruffling the two kids hair. "And your mothers won't be happy to know if I was the cause of you guys being late."

"Mama does say she doesn't want us to get your bad habits," Mirai agreed, giving him a small bow before running towards the direction of the school with Tsuna behind her, calling her out to wait up for him.

He chuckled and watched the pair of kids pushed pass a couple of pedestrians as they tried their hardest to get to class before the school bell rang. Interacting with those two reminded him of his past but Kakashi wasn't the same man he was, ten years ago or even five years ago. Before, he would allow himself to let the past control him but having seen his sensei's daughter leave to do god knows what and becoming responsible for the village his sensei had loved so dearly, Kakashi had finally learnt that the past should never have a hold on his actions.

"He really does act like Minato when he talks like that Hokage-sama doesn't he?" A voice said, snapping him out from his train of thought.

Kakashi blinked his eyes, twisted his body around and raised his eyebrow when he saw it was Hiashi talking to him. The Hyuga Head had his eyes fixed on the disappearing form of his student's son before turning his attention to him. "That boy along with his mother and grandfather are truly like the sky," Hiashi stated, giving him a blank look, "It's a pity we lost our sky but have gained much more thanks to his actions."

"How did you live without sensei? How could the rain and lightening live without the sky?" Kakashi asked him quietly, not bothering to ask the man why he was here. "You seemed to live so easy without our sky being around us."

"I had to, I had a daughter who needed her father but it was never easy for me to live without our sky," was his answer, "When our sky left, a part of me also died with him. It was the same for our mist and it was the same for the cloud, only the sun was lucky. She died with him, she never had to deal with the pain that we all experienced. If our sky were alive, would the mist have survived? Would I still have my brother if that idiotic teammate of yours hadn't gone off the deep end? If he were alive, would I have changed my mind sooner about the clan system? There are many what-if Kakashi but Minato wouldn't have want you to think of the past but to look forward to the future."

Kakashi didn't answer anything to that and watched as the former guardian left with his hand on his pocket as he greeted his youngest daughter, who frowned and raised her eyebrow at her father as she asked him why he was talking to the Hokage. The man simply grunted and told her it was some clan business before asking her about how Konohamaru was, looking almost tortured to ask the young girl about her boyfriend.

Hiashi was right about one thing, Kushina-neechan had been lucky to die with Minato-sensei because a world without their sky was painful and almost a world not worth living for. If it wasn't for the fact he knew Minato-sensei still loved Obito, Kakashi would have murdered the man with his bare hands for making them lose their sky.

A world without his sky was not a world he liked living in.

* * *

"Wait a second, Tsuna can make flames without using chakra? How the hell is that possible teme? How the hell did a training session with you led to him do that?" Naru asked, taking a hesitant bite of the eggs her boyfriend made before taking another bite of eggs. She knew she shouldn't have asked about her son's training so soon with them having only one lesson after all but Naru was curious to know if her little boy was doing alright in his training. She gulped down the egg and took a sip of orange juice before taking another hesitant bite of the eggs. Thankfully this time the eggs Sasuke made was edible for once, instead of the egg being burnt or had too much salt even for her own liking.

The man sighed at her question, shrugging his shoulder. "I don't know how he made those flames but I do know your father could make the same kind of flames as him…my father too but my father made violet flames, not orange flames like your dad and son can make."

"Will it harm Tsuna?" Naru asked him, rubbing her forehead. "And why can two people who aren't related to each other can make flames?"

"I don't know but if my father and your father can make flames like Tsuna then we can too," Sasuke took in several deep breaths before sipping his green tea. "It isn't going to harm Tsuna when Tsuna undid the flames, I didn't seen any form of burns in his hand. It just felt warm just like how you feel when you're near a fire."

"Thank Kami for that but isn't it strange how our fathers knew how to make it?"

"From what I read he learnt it from your father, who knew how to make those flames even before he came to Konoha," Naru grimaced at hearing this. "Dad didn't think it was powerful as chakra but it was harder for him to access the flames then chakra, the same went for your dad because he stated he found his chakra a lot more faster then these flames."

"Maybe he learnt it from the Mafia."

"You said something about the mafia last night, how the hell did that old man know about them?" Naru blinked her eyes at him. "And what else did you find out from that Kajiwara about the Hokage besides the fact he was a part of it?"

"Why are you acting like you know about the mafia? They're not exactly well-known here or in Japan!"

"Dobe have you forgotten I got involved with the Triad because of my damn idiocy? A few members in the Triad I knew have contacts with them, Fon especially since he has been doing some weird missions with them," Naru grimaced at the reminder while Sasuke took another a sip of a green tea. "Perhaps, I should send a message to Fon and ask him about the flames, he might know what to do."

"Fon…is he the polite one that always made sure you didn't get into trouble and the one you claimed was very good in taijutsu that he could pose a problem for even a chunin?" Naru asked, tilting her head.

"Yes that Fon," He took another sip of tea. "I hated almost everyone in the Triad but I respected Fon, the man had been powerful despite his lack of chakra, not as powerful as us but a lot more powerful then those dunderheads in the Triad and a hell lot more smarter…it's a pity he's a part of the Triad, he would have made a good shinobi."

"And you think he might know what to do about Tsuna's flames?"

"I don't know but he has contacts with the Mafia, who can possibly tell us how to teach Tsuna how to use the flames or the very least tell us what those flames are," Sasuke rubbed his forehead, "That brat of yours is just like you, he just had to be unpredictable and do something to confuse us. It wouldn't surprise me if Tsuna beats you in being the most unpredictable shinobi."

Naru chuckled; knowing how true Sasuke's words were about her son. From the moment she met him, the boy always found new ways to surprise her by either showing her his intelligence or by doing things no one had ever thought of doing or just simply asking questions no kid ever asked before. She almost never know when to expect the boy to ask but always looked forward to it, to teach the boy lessons she had never been taught because god damn it, Naru didn't want her son or any kids under her care to end up like her and the others. No, she corrected herself, she didn't want to see any child to make the same mistakes their parents made or see them suffer.

She had suffered once she left the care of the Yakuza, not from the lack of food because the villagers had given her food but from the lack of attention. If she had been beaten up or given rotten food then it wouldn't have hurt as much as the lack of attention because for a whole year, Naru had to wonder if she was alive or dead. It was for that reason and maybe a couple of other reasons why she had agreed to Tsuna's request of taking him in. His mother had ignored him, played with her other son and made the young boy watch them as they did it! She closed her eyes, curled her lips as she remembered the pain in her son's barely two year old eyes.

" _Mama care for Daichi! Mama don't care for Tsuna!"_

At the age of two or nearly two years (Naru was till this day uncertain on when Tsuna was born), Tsuna had already felt unloved by his mama.

"What are you thinking about dobe?"

"Tsuna's biological mother," Sasuke raised his eyebrow at her, "I was thinking of how my son even at a young age could say his mother didn't care about him. He was so young to say his mother only care about his twin brother and not him. How can a mother be like that? How can she be so neglectful to her infant son? How could she shower one twin with so much love and not give the same amount of love to the other? Sometimes, I think if I ever saw her again I will throttle her and yell at her for being like that to him."

"You should be grateful to her dobe," Naru blinked her eyes, "If it wasn't for her being neglectful to Tsuna, you wouldn't have your son with you. You have Tsuna because of her."

"But for how long Sasuke? I can't lie to Tsuna forever, one day I'll have to tell him the truth about his parentage because that boy of ours will figure out sooner or later the truth," She smiled ruefully, "And I don't know when he finds out the truth if he will forgive me for lying o him about it. If he's anything like me, he's going to be so angry. I mean I got so pissed at learning my father had lied to me, to the village about his name and for the connections he had."

"Tsuna isn't you," Sasuke took a small sip of his tea. "He isn't going to jump to conclusion, he's going to question you about why you hide it after all he is very perceptive. He'll forgive you for hiding it from him, just like you'll forgive your father about having that Yakuza boss hide the truth behind your father's past."

"What makes you think I'm going to forgive my old man for hiding this from me? I might have a family out there Sasuke who could have raised me but instead my father made me be raised by the Yakuza for twelve years before I got kicked out of their household," Naru sighed, "I mean I get why he didn't want me to be raised by them, if I had a choice between letting Tsuna be raised by someone in the underworld or going to his biological mother, I would go with the biological mother…the things you're forced to do, the things you see there aren't meant for kids to experience but still, it would have been nice to know if I had family."

"You could always make contact with them now."

Naru shook her head. "Hell no, I'm not getting myself or Tsuna involved with them. I don't know anything about the Mafia except they are like the Yakuza, which means they're just plain trouble and don't care about the system. I am sure not everyone in the Mafia is like that just like I know they are good people in the Yakuza but I just can't let Tsuna or any of our friends be involved with them. They lack justice and do questionable things."

"You could always change the system," Sasuke said dryly, "You said it yourself, your blood is considered royalty in the Mafia world."

"I could but something tells me it isn't my job to change it," Naru mused, "Besides if I join the mafia, who is going to take over Kakashi-sensei's job? No one could do a better job then me."

"I could name several people who could do a better job then you."

"I saved the god damn world, I deserved to be Hokage!"

"I saved the world too."

"You nearly tried to destroy it so that doesn't count," Sasuke scowled at the reminder, "Besides we both know you wouldn't be happy with ruling the village, too many people you would be forced to deal with, people who are stupid for not looking pass your actions. Honestly, the way they treat you just makes me want to set Kurama on them! You were fucking teenager who had learnt the village betrayed your brother, I think that can give you some leeway on trying to destroy the village."

"I might have been a teenager dobe but it doesn't excuse my actions," Sasuke sighed. "I nearly tried to destroy the village my brother loved, a village that had innocent civilians because I felt anger for what they did to my brother. If anyone should have destroyed the village, it should have been Itachi but my idiotic older brother loved the village too much to do that. This god damn village that held too many secrets and murdered even the old people and the kids of my clan."

Naru gazed at him and then to the Hokage Mountain out at the window. "Our village, no, our Hokages made so many mistakes when trying to protect the village. The First Hokage by letting the Second Hokage put your clan on the outskirts of the village, the Second Hokage for being prejudice for most of them, the Third Hokage for becoming too soft in his old age and letting Danzo do what he want, my father was only in term for a year before he died but he hadn't made any mistakes in term."

"From what my father wrote, your father made sure to deal with any enemies the village made quietly and ruthlessly," Sasuke stated, "Our village made so many enemies but the Fourth Hokage had used any means to make sure the village safe, murder was his last resort but the things the Hokage did made me wonder if he was alive would my clan still do a coup d'etat."

"If what Kajiwara-ojisan said was true about your father seeing my father as his brother then no because my father would have done everything in his power to prevent what happened to your clan," Naru took a bite of the egg, "I wish he also had the same convection with the Mafia, if my father could protect this village then he could definitely changed his family to be something he was proud of. It was cowardly of him to run away from it and to hide so many things from his own daughter. You know despite having learnt all I can from the old man, I still don't feel like I know enough about my father."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything instead he sips his tea before gazing out at the window. "I don't know much about my own great-grandmother's connection to your father too or why my father didn't mind following him," he mused, "And the name Giotto…why was that name always mentioned whenever your father talked to my great-grandmother? And the language they talked that my father didn't understand, there are just so many gaps in our family's history."

Naru nodded her head. "Well whatever the case is, we're never going to keep any secrets hidden from Tsuna or any kids we have."

"Are you proposing?"

The blonde flushed red before gulping down a lump. "It's the guy job to propose, not the girl so no. Besides, how can I propose if you haven't even taken me out on a date even?"

"Hn. We do everything backwards, what difference does this make?"

She couldn't argue about that because even Naru had to admit their relationship had always been unorthodox in so many ways. They travelled together, raised a kid together and even lived together without being in a relationship and did the deed before going out together. Something always drew them together and nothing could define their relationship before except they were more then friends.

Really, what difference does it make if they continued to do things backwards?

* * *

How could there not be a single damn clue on where his little Tsu-kun went? Iemitsu had to ask himself as he read through what must be the twentieth police report in the past two days. How could someone not notice if someone had stolen his little boy or talked to him while his wife played with little Dai-kun? There must have been someone with his son because no matter how smart Tsuna was even he wasn't smart enough to go some place where the police couldn't find him.

He groaned, ran his hand through his hair and stared at the baby picture of a smiling Tsuna. He was supposed to come home to see both his little boys rushing towards him with joy, calling out Papa and him tossing them around before pecking his wife in the cheek and eating her food that he missed so much. He wanted to celebrate their birthday with them, to make up for the important time he had missed and the times he was going to miss with them. He wasn't supposed to come home to find out his sweet little Tsu-kun was missing for the past three years, missing because his wife had been forgetful to take Tsuna with her.

Rubbing his eyes, Iemitsu opened the next police report and started to skim reading through it, hoping the report would give him more clues on his cute little boy whereabouts. He gritted his teeth as he remembered how Nana told him the police had given up searching for their son, declaring the little boy dead despite not finding any child body. How could they give up so easily? His son could be suffering because of them! His sweet little boy could be hurting and waiting for someone to save him! He should have been home more! He should have came back earlier but damn it, Enrico had to die in a gun fight which meant he had to do research on the other sons of the Ninth to see who was better suited to become the boss.

It was sad to say no matter how he looked at it, those to weren't suited but if he told the ninth that then the old man would have asked him to become the heir or give it to one of his own sons and Iemitsu would be damned if he let one of his little boys be dragged into it.

Everything would have been so much easier if his cousin was here, Iemitsu could have a normal life and lived with his wife and two sons but Minato had to disappear and someone had to take over CEDEF since his grandfather stated one of his grandsons would take over it. His grandfather had to be an idiot and make a bet that he lost.

He sighed and shook his head before rubbing his temple. There was nothing he could do now about his job, his cousin was gone and had been gone for more then nearly thirty years, leaving his new-born cousin to be groomed for his role. All he knew about his cousin Minato from his uncle was that he looked like the First Boss, had been smart which Iemitsu agreed since he noticed the intelligent glint in his cousin's eyes in his baby pictures. He didn't know what possessed his cousin to disappear.

Shaking his head, Iemitsu clicked on the video that the police received from the camera in the park on the day of his son's disappearance. He leaned against his seat, bit his cheek to prevent himself from crying at the sight of his little Tsuna sitting away from Nana as she played with Daichi. Why was his little boy just sitting there? Why wasn't he demanding for his mama's attention? He watched closely as Tsuna gazed at Nana with big brown eyes that just made Iemitsu want to throttle his wife for making their son look so lonely. His son hadn't even turned two yet and already he looked sad and lonely.

When he saw his son again, Iemitsu was going to make up for the lonely times that Tsuna had to deal with.

He blinked his eyes when he caught sight of a blond-haired teenage girl walking in the same path that Tsuna was sitting, felt his throat become dry and paused the video to take a good look at her. She looked like someone he knew, Iemitsu thought, zooming in on the video. A memory of his grandfather flashing the picture of his older cousin came to his mind. His cousin had the same shade of blond as the girl in the video, the same eye colour too but how…what the hell was happening? How could there be a female version of his older cousin in there?

Iemitsu curled his lips and resumed the video again, nearly laughing when the teenage girl yelled out about how it wasn't her fault and kicked the rock but stopped laughing when he saw the girl approaching his little Tsu-kun. He felt his smile fade as the girl looked at the direction of his wife and Daichi, looking hopeful for them to notice her. Why on earth would she be…he didn't let himself finish that thought as he finally see the girl approaching Tsuna, who had blinked his eyes at her.

He felt his heart contracted as the young teenage girl placed her hand on his son's hair and listened carefully as she asked him if he wanted to play in the swing like Daichi. Was this the person who stole his son? No, he was jumping to conclusion because if she stole his son then why would she ask him this question? He ran his hand through his hair, bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out when he saw the hopeful look on his son's eyes.

Was his son that lonely? How could he not have known this? He was supposed to be the head of CEDEF, which was also an intelligence unit! How could he not realize his wife to the point was neglecting his son where he had hope for someone to put him in the swing? He was a shitty father for not coming home, for not checking on his oldest son more but most of all for not being there when his family needed him.

He continued to watch them, feeling his heartbreak more and more as he seen for what could be the first smile in his son's face in the video. What really broke his heart was the way he saw Tsuna tried to grab the sky, asking the blond-haired woman if she could pushed higher and the joy in his eyes when she complied to his wish. Weren't kids supposed to demand and not ask? What happened in that one year he was gone from his family? What happened for his sweet little Tsu-kun to become such a very nervous child?

When the blond-haired woman stopped and looked at his wife and Daichi, who was leaving without him, Iemitsu had hoped this was when she took his son without even considering his wife and Daichi because then Iemitsu could hate her. He couldn't hate her just now because damn it, she made his son happy which was more he could say for his wife but if she took him right then, he could blame her because she should have given him to Nana.

It seemed like it was too much for him to hope for.

He found his final breaking point when Tsuna cried, asking the woman not to take him to his mama and how she tried to convince him, telling him his mama and dad would be sad if he wasn't with them. He felt his heart shattered when Tsuna said Nana didn't care for him and how he was gone. Was it his fault their son was gone? Was it his fault they lost their little boy because he wasn't home often? He couldn't quit his job, not because he loved it but it was the only way he could feed their family. He watched numbly as the woman gave a small smile and carried the boy away.

Iemitsu stopped the video and allowed himself to cry for the little boy he failed to protect, the boy who he needed to find now more then ever. Little Tsuna had been so lonely, had begged a stranger to take him in and it was all because of how he wasn't around more. If he had been around more, would Tsuna still be here? He rubbed his temple and stared at the picture of the blond-haired woman. He was going to find out who that woman was because if he could find her, he could find Tsuna and make up for everything he missed.

He was also going to yell at that woman for taking his son away because even if his son was sad and lonely, it didn't give her any damn right to take his son away from them, from him. Tsuna and Daichi are his pride and joy, they were the only things he looked forward too, the only reason why he could do his job because he was always looking forward to seeing them.

The only thing Iemitsu had to do to find his son was to find out where the woman was because if he could find the blond-haired woman, he could find his little Tsu-kun and make up to the boy for the actions his mother did.

He just hoped by the time he find Tsuna, it wouldn't be too late for the boy to consider becoming a part of their family again.

* * *

 **Questions and Answers:**

 **Which one is stronger chakra or dying will flames?**

Chakra is definitely stronger than dying will flames. I doubt Naruto and Sasuke would have been able to defeat the Juubi with Dying Will Flames.

 **Who will I pair Tsuna with?**

As of now, I'm leaning towards Mirai but even then the pairing isn't going to play a big part to the overall plot. This goes for the other pairings in the story, most of the pairing in the story except for Naru and Sasuke's relationship isn't going to play a big effect to the story.

 **Will Tsuna add anyone from Konoha into his family?**

Yes he will but they won't have as an important role in the family like the guardians but their roles with become important in the TYL arc.

 **Does Naru know Tsuna's last name?**

No Naru doesn't know Tsuna last name, when she took in Tsuna, she didn't take the time to find out about his last name so you can guess what her reaction will be when she finds out that Tsuna and her are already related. She was lucky to pick his fake birthday on the same day as his actual birth since Naru did absolutely no research on Tsuna, deciding to wing it with him.

 **Could Tsuna already remember his full name when he met Naru?**

Tsuna met Naru when he was nearly two years old, which I think was too young to know your full name as no one had ever called him by his last name.

 **Will Tsuna get the sharingan?**

No because it wouldn't be realistic for him to get the sharingan when Sasuke and Naru had made certain after the war to burn the corpse of every member of the Uchiha Clan as well as Danzo's corpse.

* * *

 **A/N:** Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter especially the last bit with Iemitsu. Also tell me who do you think is Naru's other guardians?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** **I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows. Some of the suggestions on who Naru's guardians were very interesting but I won't reveal who her other guardians are until the KHR arc so please continue to guess who they are.**

* * *

Saturday, Tsuna decided as he flipped through a page of his book, was the best day of the week. It was the one of two days in the week where he didn't have to go to school, where he didn't have to deal with so many of the girls staring at him or trying to find new places to hide because all the girls decided they wanted to eat their lunch with him. Saturday was the only day in the week where he spent so much time with mama, Sasuke-ojisan and of course Mirai-chan since he always go to the park to play with her on Saturday.

He took a bite of the fish his mama made, glancing back at the book before flickering his eyes at his mama and then to his uncle, who kept glancing at the window as if he was waiting for something. Tsuna frowned, tilted his head and glanced at his mama, who simply smiled and shook her head at his silent question. He sighed. The look on his mama's face meant he wasn't allowed to know what was going on with his uncle since he was too young to know. In the eyes of his mother and uncle, he seemed to be too young to know things surrounding their family.

"Tsu-kun, what are you reading this time?" His mama asked, glancing at the book in his hand.

Tsuna shrugged his shoulder and smiled. "It's a biography of grandfather Minato! Did you know that nobody in the village knows where he was born? I always thought he was born here."

His mama smiled at this but there was something about the smile that made him worried, not for himself but for his mother, who seemed to fix her eyes at her breakfast which was something his mama only did whenever she wasn't happy about something. He closed the book, tilted his head at his mama and opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong but closed it when he saw the pain in her eyes. It wasn't the right time to ask his mama about what was wrong with what he just said about the Yondaime Hokage, something told him if he asked then he wouldn't get the true answer from his mama.

He sighed and glanced at the cover of the book, which was of a smiling Fourth Hokage as he was being initiated into his position, before running a hand through his brown hair. Looking closely into the smiling Fourth Hokage's eyes, Tsuna noticed there was a tiredness in the man's eyes as well as a sadness that seemed to scream he didn't like what he was doing but, it was all hidden with that smile that was so similar to his mother's real smile. He glanced at his mother, who was now taking her plates and heading to the kitchen, humming a small tune as she placed the plates into the kitchen sink.

Would his mama know why his grandfather were giving such looks on what was meant to be a happy day? Tsuna asked himself, gazing at the picture of the smiling Hokage. He shook his head at this thought, flipping back to the page he was reading before he told his mama about his grandfather's birth. It was better he read the book first before asking his mama about his grandfather, after all, the author said he asked his grandfather about everything, things the villagers at the time had been dying to know was what the book cover had said.

"Y'know Tsu-kun if you want to learn more about your grandfather, you could always ask Kakashi-sensei," His mother called out, wiping her hands with a paper towel before taking a seat beside him. Tsuna blinked his eyes. "The only person in this village who is still alive that I think still knows a lot about him is Kakashi-sensei, he'll be a lot better than the author."

"I know but I don't want to ask Kakashi-ojisan," His mother blinked while his uncle put down the newspaper, raising his eyebrow at him. "Kakashi-ojisan seems sad if I ever ask him about grandfather. I think grandfather's death still hurts him…he seems lost without grandfather, right?"

They didn't answer him but from the widening of his mother and uncle's eyes, Tsuna knew he surprised them by making this observation and looked as if they didn't consider that. He shrugged his shoulder, glanced at the book before staring at his mama and uncle. "Mirai asked him about grandfather anyways Mama, so I know a little bit more about him. I know Kakashi-ojisan thought of grandfather like a brother and that grandfather accepted anyone into his house and that he was a kind man, who never asked for anything in return. He was also a terrible cook like Sasuke-ojisan!"

"Why do the two of you keep complaining about my cooking?" His uncle asked. "Is my cooking that terrible to you two?"

His mother snorted. "You may be a good shinobi, good at giving orders and taking charge as well as being good at writing but you're terrible in doing anything that requires housework, especially cooking. Do you not remember how two years ago, you put too much salt in our eggs? And don't get me started on the rice and that one time you tried to make yourself tea with tea leaves!"

Tsuna nodded his head in agreement, causing his uncle to raise his eyebrow, asking him the silent question on why he was taking his mother's side over his. Shrugging his shoulder, Tsuna pointed to his mother and just mouthed the word 'scary' to him. The older male simply rolled his eyes, shook his head and muttered something about how his mother now had the ability to scare her own child to submission.

"At least I can tell the difference between genders."

"I've only made that mistake twice in my life!" His uncle crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at her. "Fine three times but you've to admit that Haku did look like a girl when you met him the first time! And those two sons of the Daimyo really did have a feminine face! How the hell was I suppose to know they were guys or they were being insulted if I called them girls?"

Turning to him, his uncle sighed and gravely said to him. "Tsuna, when you become a ninja, the first thing you should do is pay attention to what the mission is and read the mission scroll or else you'll make the same mistake as your mother."

"Don't insult me Teme!" Tsuna laughed as his mother gave a cold glare to his uncle. "And what about Haku? Could you have known immediately that he was boy and not a girl?"

His uncle didn't answer, which told both his mama and him that his uncle certainly didn't know immediately the boy Haku was actually a boy. Rubbing the back of his neck, Tsuna glanced at the cover of his book, taking note that just like him, his grandfather also had a girly face. Did people ever mistake him for being a girl? It sometimes happened to Tsuna whenever his mother decided to take him to Suna to visit the Kazekage, who was also one of his mother's closest friends.

He shook his head at this and decided that if people mistake him for a girl again, they were stupid because there was nothing about the rest of his body that made him look like a girl! He didn't have long hair like Mirai! So there was nothing about him that made it seem like he was a little girl. Yup, those people who mistake him for a girl were idiots.

"Mama, what time are we going to the park today?" Tsuna asked, interrupting his mother and uncle's argument. The two adults stopped their argument, glanced at each other, before nodding their heads at him. "And Sasuke-ojisan, do we still have training today?"

He hoped they didn't have training today because his uncle had been training him non-stop for the past few days on how to access his chakra and making him run fifteen laps around his compound. Normally, Tsuna loved running around his uncle's compound but he didn't want to become so tired that he couldn't play with Mirai or protect the older girl from the bullies that loved to pull her hair. Though, if you asked Mirai, she would say she didn't need protecting from them but Tsuna liked protecting Mirai, it was the only time he felt like a hero to her especially now he had to rely on her to hide him from the girls who kept following him wherever he go.

"Kurenai-sensei told me that Mirai-chan has to go for a check up at one and said they will be probably be done at around three," His mother tilted her head and tapped her chin, "And knowing this, I think they'll be there at four, so we will go to the park at four."

"So that means you'll have to go and change now if we want to finish your training early if you want to go play with her," Tsuna opened his mouth to argue but his uncle shot him a look that said if he complained then he was going to make today's training worse. His uncle smirked and ruffled his hair. "Tsuna, if you do well in this training session, I'll take you to Yakiniku Q."

"Why not Ichiraku?"

"I take him there after he finishes his usual training," His mother glanced at him, asking him if what his uncle said was true and pouted when Tsuna nodded, "Besides didn't Sakura tell you that too much ramen isn't good for Tsuna? Tsuna already had five bowls of ramen this week, which is more than what he should be eating in a week. Besides at least with Yakiniku Q, I can be certain you won't be eating what could be ten bowls of ramen."

"I don't eat ten bowls of ramen!" His uncle snorted. "Tsuna, tell your uncle that your mother doesn't eat ten bowls of ramen."

"Mama, you taught me never to lie and if I told Sasuke-ojisan you don't then I'll be lying," Sasuke-ojisan smirked while his mother crossed her arms and scowled. "Besides Mama, we haven't eaten gyutan in such a long time! Please Mama, can't we eat there?"

His mother opened her mouth to argue but closed it when Tsuna widened his eyes, looking at his mother with such hopeful eyes that his mother closed her eyes, sighed before nodding her head at him. He grinned, rushed to his mother before hugging her tightly, taking in the scent of his mother's orange body soap before looking up at her. She smiled softly, telling him just how happy she was to have him hug. He smiled right back, snuggling his head closer to his mother's stomach as he tried to soak in the warmth that his mother always seemed to be radiating with. Just feeling his mother's stomach soothed him, making him feel as if he could go through anything, could handle his uncle's training method.

"Tsu-kun, you know I love you right?" His mother asked out of nowhere, making Tsuna look up at her. She had a small smile that just made Tsuna gulp because he had never seen his mother looked so worried before. Furrowing his eyebrows, Tsuna glanced at his uncle, who had a blank expression as he shook his head at him.

"I know you do mama!" His mother ruffled his hair and kissed him on the forehead, causing him to rub his cheek, which only made his mother chuckle at him. "I love you too mama! I love you infinite."

His mother grinned. "If you love me infinite then I love you even more!"

"Really?"

She nodded, grinned at him and before Tsuna could blink his eyes, his mother had grabbed him by the waist. He squealed and screamed when his mama swung him around before begging her to put him down. She only laughed while his uncle shook his head at them but still had a small hint of a smile on his face. Tsuna sighed and realized there was nothing he could do to make his mother stop. She would let him go when she wanted to until then he had to bare with it.

To be honest, Tsuna didn't really want his mother stop doing this.

* * *

Walking into the Uchiha compound brought back memories, Naru mused to herself, holding Tsuna's left hand while Sasuke held Tsuna's right hand. She could remember standing in front of the gates for hours end, waiting for Itachi, Sasuke, Sasuke's mother or even Sasuke's father to talk to the guards into letting her in. If it was Sasuke's father who saw her standing in front of the gates, he would give the guards a cold glare and then turned to her, giving her a strange look before telling her to go in while he talked to them. Sometimes she used to stand behind the gates, listening in as Sasuke's father scolded them for making her wait there and reminding them she was always welcomed here.

After the Yakuza, Sasuke's family were the only people who treated her with so much kindness, allowing her to come over and fussing over her. It was Sasuke's mother, who taught her how to cook, telling her that a young girl must know how to cook. She could remember numbly how sometimes his mother would have a far away look as she stared into a photo fame of a red-haired woman, who Naru now know was her mother. She remembered how the woman would sometimes give a dirty look to the other mothers whenever they glared at her before asking her how her day was.

No matter what people say about the Uchiha clan, Naru always felt as if the Uchiha clan had been kinder to her then to the other clans. Event the ones who denied her entry to their house or didn't try to hide their hate from her neither were at least polite to her nor tried to ignore her existence like the others.

"Sasuke-ojisan, what are we going to learn today?" Her son asked when they entered the training ground of the clan. Naru smiled at the gleam of excitement in her son's eyes while Sasuke simply sighed. "You're not going to make me try to access my chakra again? Because you know I can do it now with my eyes closed just like you and Mama."

"Yes Sasuke, what are you going to teach Tsuna today?" He smirked at her and pointed to the leaves on the trees that surrounded them. Naru groaned, shook her head and gave the little boy a sympathetic look, which earned her a titling of her son's head. She chuckled and made a zip-lip motion, earning a pout from the little boy. This only made her laugh even harder, causing him to smile at her. Sasuke simply rolled his eyes at their behaviour but Naru could see the amusement in his eyes.

How long had it been since she saw him like that? Naru asked herself, leaning against the tree and watched as Sasuke took a leaf from the tree, earning a raised eyebrow from Tsuna. So many years had passed since he lost his family, since Sasuke stopped being so opened with his emotions and started to become cold but he was slowly becoming his old self. He wasn't going to go back being the Sasuke she grew up with but he wasn't going to become the man he nearly ended up becoming. She knew that much could be certain from his interactions with her son.

"Tsuna, accessing your chakra was the first step of becoming a strong ninja, the second step is for you to gain control over your chakra," Sasuke said, snapping her from her musings. Tsuna raised his eyebrow at Sasuke while she reluctantly nodded in agreement with him. "What's the point of your mother and me teaching you a jutsu if you're not able to control and conserve the chakra you have?"

"What does conserve mean?"

"It means to save," He explained.

"I don't understand Sasuke-ojisan," Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, "If I can access my chakra then isn't it enough for me to use jutsu? I mean what was the point of making me learn the hand seals if you're not going to teach me a jutsu?"

"I could teach you a jutsu but you won't have the necessary control to use the justu to its full power," Tsuna frowned but nodded his head anyway in agreement, "Or you might get tired from using the jutsu because you used too much chakra."

Naru couldn't help but wince as she remembered the stupid clone jutsu she had never mastered. Till this day, she had used too much chakra in making that jutsu and no one had tried to point it out to her. Until she mastered the shadow clone jutsu, Naru had thought that the students was right about her being an idiot for not knowing how to do it. Then again, it was her fault for not going to Iruka-sensei and admitting to him she didn't know what to do but her pride and arrogance got in her way, nearly hindering her of her chance of becoming a ninja.

She gazed at the leaves of the tree, took in several deep breaths before staring at her son, who she knew was lucky in the sense that his chakra reserves were normal for a kid his age. Having too much chakra was more of a curse than a blessing at times because no matter how much chakra control exercise she did, Naru knew she would never have the perfect chakra control that Sakura and Hinata had.

"Sasuke-ojisan why would that happen?" Tsuna stared wide-eyed at Sasuke. "Why isn't it enough to just use chakra for a jutsu?"

"It's because Tsu-kun if you used too much chakra then some of it will be wasted, making it very easy for you to get tired," She walked towards him and placed her hand on his head, sighing as she remembered Ebisu's words. "That wouldn't be a problem for someone like me since I have so much chakra, I won't notice but for you Tsu-kun and even for Sasuke, you'll notice the drop of energy," her son nodded, "Tsu-kun what do you think will happen to the ninja if he gets too tired in a fight with me?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the situation but Naru shrugged her shoulder and told him Tsuna would understand better if she gave him a situation he was familiar with. The older male pursed his lips but nodded his head. She smiled before gazing at Tsuna, who rubbed his chin and furrowed his eyebrow as he tried to think hard about the situation she gave him. Naru knew without a doubt Tsuna would know the right answer; her son was one of the smartest boys she knew. Definitely a hell lot more smarter than her, she certainly didn't think the things her son thought of at that age.

"Something bad will happen to them right?" Naru nodded. "If it's like when you're fighting with Sasuke-ojisan, you're going to take advantage of their tiredness and use it against them, which means if they were in mission, they would lose because of that."

He really did pick things up fast, Naru thought to herself as she numbly nodded her head at him, earning a grin from the five year old. She was going to tell him about what it would lead to in a mission since a little boy like him shouldn't be thinking that far ahead but then again this was Tsuna after all. The little boy in front of her wasn't a genius but he was a very smart boy, a very hard-working boy to since all Sasuke does whenever they were alone together tell her how her little boy simply didn't give up in his laps even though it was obvious he was tired. Her son definitely had the power of youth Gai and Lee liked to scream about.

"So if a ninja use too much chakra and get tired then they might fail in their mission but why is too little chakra bad then Mama? Sasuke-ojisan?" Tsuna tilted his head at them. "If you save a lot of chakra then it shouldn't be a problem right?"

"In theory you're right," Sasuke agreed, earning a smile from Tsuna, "But there's a problem of using too little chakra in a jutsu Tsuna. The jutsu you make won't be as powerful as it can be, a water jutsu for example won't have the strength to knock out an opponent, a fire jutsu might not be hot enough to cause any serious damage, this can lead to problems in missions. When this happens, the shinobi who use too little chakra in his jutsu is facing the same problems as the shinobi who used too much chakra."

"So we need to use the right amount of chakra? Just like how Mama uses just the right amount of salt in her eggs? Because if its too much then it'll taste like the salty eggs you made! And if it's too little it'll taste just as blend as Sai-ojisan cooking," Sasuke scowled at the reminder of the eggs while Naru laughed at her son's description. Tsuna smiled widely at them. "So Sasuke-ojisan, Mama, if I learn how to use the right amount of chakra in my jutsu then I won't be tired and it's as strong as it can be?" they nodded their head, causing him to frown. "But how do you do that? Isn't every every jutsu different in how much chakra is needed?" The older male nodded, "Then how do I know the right amount of chakra for a jutsu?"

"That's where chakra control comes in," Sasuke gazed at the tree, "By learning how to control you chakra, you'll in theory know how much chakra is needed for a jutsu. The first chakra control exercise you're going to learn is one you'll be later taught in the Academy: The Leaf Concentration Practice."

"It isn't also just good for chakra control but also concentration," She couldn't help but add, remembering how it came in useful in learning how to use the rasengan. "And good ninjas need to be able to concentrate well."

"Most good ninjas, you're the exception to the rule."

Naru whacked the side of his head, making Sasuke scowl at her and a giggle from Tsuna. "Don't think I'm going to sit still and let you insult me in front of my son," her boyfriend rolled his eyes at her, "Don't roll your eyes at me. If you want I can tell Tsu-kun about how you used to…"

"Moving on, this exercise is the first of many chakra control exercises that we're going to teach you," Naru rolled her eyes at the change of topic before nodding her head in agreement, "It might be months before you master this chakra control exercise but when you do master it, you'll notice a difference in the amount of chakra you're using in the jutsu that the teachers are teaching you."

"Ok…but why are we using a leaf for the exercise?"

"We're going to need to use it for the chakra control exercise," Sasuke said dryly, ruffling Tsuna's hair. "I didn't pick a leaf out of a tree for no good reason."

"So Sasuke-ojisan, Mama…how do I do the chakra control exercise?" Sasuke grinned, which made Tsuna shiver and gulped, causing Naru to shake her head at him. "I'm not going to like it am I Mama, Sasuke-ojisan?"

"Not one bit," Sasuke answered, giving her a smug look as if to remind her about how she never did well in the chakra control exercise Iruka-sensei taught them, " I hated this chakra control exercise along with everyone in class, but your mother hated it more than anyone else since she could never concentrate on the leaf."

"I didn't hate it," she defended herself when Tsuna gazed at her with wide eyes, "I just didn't like the fact we had to stand still to do this exercise! You know I had a problem with standing still at the time."

"Doesn't give you an excuse to try and tear it down when you saw it wasn't sticking to your head."

"You burned the leaf."

"Can we please go back to teaching me?" Tsuna asked, puffing his cheeks at them. "Sasuke-ojisan is supposed to be teaching me how to use the exercise!"

Naru sighed and gestured for Sasuke to do his stuff, causing the older man to smirk at her. Leave it to her own son wanting to train more then to hear an argument between her and Sasuke. Walking towards the tree, Naru jumped up and grabbed a branch before pulling herself up. She sat down on the branch, crossed her legs and watched as Sasuke instructed Tsuna on how to do the exercise. Staring at them, Naru noticed how he demonstrated it to her son before telling him on how to do the chakra control and how he would repeat himself whenever Tsuna looked confuse.

Surprisingly, Sasuke was actually a good instructor. Maybe she should go to Kakashi and suggest making Sasuke a jounin instructor, it would certainly gain him some more brownie points with the villagers. She curled her lips at this. Would Sasuke even want to be a sensei to three other kids? She couldn't just go and tell Kakashi if Sasuke didn't want to do that and even if she could, she needed Sasuke to do the necessary paperwork for it, which was a problem. Unlike her, Sasuke actually read some of the paperwork he was given.

"You need to concentrate all your chakra onto the leaf that was why I kept making you access your chakra until you can do it with your eyes closed since it takes time to concentrate and feel your chakra," Sasuke said, drawing her attention back to him and Tsuna. Sasuke took the leaf off of his forehead and gave it to Tsuna, who stared at the leaf with wonderment, "Now if you concentrate all your chakra on the leaf then the leaf will stick to your forehead."

Nodding, her son placed the leaf on his forehead and scrunched his eyebrows, a habit Naru knew her son did whenever he was concentrating on something. She smiled widely when she saw the leaf was starting to stick on her son's face. The first challenge of that chakra control was getting it to stick but the real challenge was getting it to stick for long periods of time. The longest she could ever do was half an hour while Sakura could do that technique for hours on end, which was the pink-haired woman's pride.

She smiled when the leaf fell off of his forehead.

"Damn it! It fell!" Tsuna cried.

"Language Tsuna," Naru narrowed her eyes at her son, who simply laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, "And of course it fell, you were using too little chakra. Do you really believe you could make it stick to your forehead the first time around? The only person who could do that is Sakura," Sasuke said grudgingly, "And even then she was gifted with naturally good chakra control. It's natural on your first go that you fail at doing this."

"You still did well in getting it to stick!" His son smiled widely at her. "Now we need you to get it to stick on your head for five minutes!"

"Five minutes!"

"Dobe, let's make it ten minutes," Tsuna gulped at this, "If you whine Tsuna, I'll add an extra five minutes to the training exercise."

He nodded his head, placed the leaf back on his head and closed his eyes while he did this, Sasuke went over to where she was sitting and took a seat beside her. She gave him a small smile, took in a deep breath before allowing herself to relax. It was good for the three of them to be like this, for her to watch them train, for Sasuke and Tsuna to bond over training because Naru didn't know what their relationship would be like when she told him the truth.

"If he keeps this up, it won't be long before he's head of the class," Naru smiled at this, "It surprises me how Tsuna can pick things up quickly, accessing his chakra as fast as he did."

"I know which makes me worry about whether or not Iruka-sensei would allow him to graduate early like my father, Kakashi-sensei and even Itachi did," Sasuke grimaced at this thought, "And I don't know if I have it in myself to deny him if they ever give him the form that requests for early graduation. I don't want Tsuna to lose his childhood, to be something he isn't or to take his friends for granted."

"If you think like that dobe, you shouldn't let Tsuna be a ninja," Naru blinked her eyes, "Becoming a ninja means all those things you think if he graduate at the age of twelve, he won't lose his childhood? He might get a mission like our mission in Wave and might be forced to kill someone, his first kill will be the marked of a lost childhood. Seeing someone die in front of him also means he'll have a lost childhood."

"I know…that's why I hope we can change the shinobi world," She looked up at the clear blue sky, "For now Tsuna lives in the world of peace but for how long is it going to be like that? What if there will be a bigger threat then the war we faced, what then? Does the Hokage make the kids go and fight, knowing there's a chance of them losing their lives? Just the thought makes me feel sick. That's why when I become Hokage, I've decided to keep an eye on every country in the world."

"Including the ones on the other side of the veil?"

"Those are the ones I worry about the most," Naru stared at Tsuna, "Remember how many times we've to hear about the amount of wars those countries face? What happens if they find out about us? If they decide to attack us, I know we can defeat them without a problem but how many people are going to suffer because of it."

"Are you thinking about this because of your father?"

"He could have gone to any country in the world yet he picked a country on the other side of the veil," Naru rubbed her chin, "Why our village? And what the hell was his connection to your great-grandmother? Also who is Tsuna's family?" she sighed. "You know I would care about Tsuna's biological family since he's my son and I've to tell him the truth sooner or later but he looks like my father…which makes me wonder, do you think his biological family had a connection with mine?"

"The only way to find out is if we can trace Tsuna original family name," Naru grimaced, "One of us will have to go to Namimori to find Tsuna's birth records, which might give us a clue on how he's related to you and the Fourth Hokage. It might also gives us an opportunity to find out more about the Fourth Hokage and his past…we could check if your grandparents are alive."

She stared at Tsuna, who still had his eyes scrunched up as he tried to keep the leaf on his head, and then to Sasuke before shaking her head as she made her decision. "I might want to know if Tsuna is related to me but it isn't worth one of us going there not when Tsuna needs us both here, he hasn't been this happy since you left last year and I want to keep him happy," he grimaced at this, "We're needed here Sasuke and my father had his reasons for wanting to hide his past, to hide his connections with the underworld and we need to respect that. Besides if my grandparents were alive, what am I going to do? Introduce myself and say hey I'm your lost son's daughter, nice to meet you. They'll think I'm crazy for doing that. No, it's better if we don't do anymore research on them and focus on Tsuna."

He raised his eyebrow at this. "Since when have you been this mature?"

"I've always been mature, I just don't show it to people," she sighed and stared at Tsuna, "Besides, something inside of me is telling me Tsuna is going to need all the training he could get. These next couple of years are going to be the calm before the storm, I can just feel it in me y'know?"

Sasuke slowly nodded his head, poking her forehead before jumping down to the ground, effectively breaking her son from his concentration. Naru smiled when Tsuna pouted and told Sasuke he was nearly there, only to blink his eyes when the man declared he did more then enough for the chakra control. She couldn't help but shake her head when Sasuke ordered her son to run fifteen laps around the compound, wondering once Tsuna improved his stamina if the man was going to increase it again.

Not that it mattered because everything Sasuke was doing to Tsuna was increasing the like hood of him surviving in the cruel shinobi world. If it meant Tsuna could survive out there, Naru wouldn't stop Sasuke from trying to train her son to the ground. Even though she wanted Tsuna to have a normal childhood, she also didn't want to end up being those mothers that had to hear their child died in the field.

Her son needed to survive in that world because if he could survive and thrive in this world then he could survive anywhere.

* * *

How could it be possible for one woman not to exist? Iemitsu had to asked himself as he scrolled down through the pictures of the possible woman who store his son. He had checked the database of any people visiting Namimori, looked at every damn possible passport of every Japanese woman in the damn country as well as any foreign woman who entered Japan, four years ago. Nothing came up. There was absolutely nothing to hint who this woman was. Hell, there were no records of her in any of the hotels in Namimori or all of Japan, making him wonder if she was some kind of phantom because damn it, it shouldn't be possible for this to happen.

He rubbed his forehead, looked at the computer screen and then to the screenshot of the woman he had taken from the video. How on earth was it hard to find the picture of a blond-haired woman with whiskered cheeks? The security camera of all the airports in Japan never showed a woman with whiskered cheeks and every data based in the country showed no pictures of a teenage girl with whiskered cheeks. It was almost like they were taunting him, telling him despite being a part of CEDEF, he wasn't good enough to find his little boy and his kidnapper. He curled his hands into a fist, glanced at the calendar before cursing, in a few days he would have to go to Italy which would mean he would have to either put the search on hold or have someone in his team do the research for him.

"Papa?" A voice called out to him, snapping him from his train of thought. Iemitsu nearly smiled at the sight of Daichi walking towards him, brown eyes glinting with childish curiosity as he tried to grab his pants. "What are you doing? Why don't you play with me?"

"I'm looking for the person who took Tsu-kun away," He explained, grabbing the boy by the waist and placing him on his lap. "I'll play with you in a few minutes just wait for Papa to finish looking at this and he'll come."

"What's he like?" Daichi asked, blinking. "What does Tsuna look like?"

Iemitsu winced at this. Sometimes he forgot how Daichi didn't know Tsuna, didn't even remember he had a brother until he came home. It wasn't the boy's fault but Nana, Nana who should have taken better care to notice if their son wasn't with them or not. He knew she hadn't been the same since his father had decided to meet her, decided to seal her flames away because he determined her flames were hurting her more then healing her. It had made the woman he loved going from being the free-spirited woman she was to this naïve woman who ignored the most obvious of things. He couldn't blame her completely for this, some of it was his fault for not realizing the effects it would have on her but at the same time he blamed her because if she had just paid attention more then Tsuna wouldn't have left with that stranger.

Shaking his head, Iemitsu rummaged through his pockets and pulled out the last photo he had taken of them before he left for Italy. His heart throbbed as he stared at the smiling faces of his two sons, remembering sadly how he tried to have the two hug for the photo only for it to fail since Daichi decided to hit Tsuna, making him cry. If Tsuna was here, he would have taken more pictures of those two, not just pictures of Daichi but with no Tsuna, Iemitsu had made do with what he had.

"That's me," Daichi said, pointing to him and Tsuna. "Why are there two me?"

Iemitsu laughed. "The brown-haired boy is Tsuna, not you, he's your older brother."

"Older brother? Like Kyoko-chan's brother?" Iemitsu didn't know who this Kyoko was but he nodded his head, presuming the brother was the older boy of the girl. "Why isn't he here with Kaa-chan and me?"

How could he explain it to a child that his mother forgot about his brother? He didn't want to make something up to him not when there was a possibility he could bring back Tsuna to them. What would someone in his position do? How could they explain to a child their older brother was missing? He couldn't say the word gone, gone meant dead and his oldest son wasn't dead! He was alive if the video was of any indication. Pursing his lips, Iemitsu decided on the best word to tell his son.

"Your older brother is lost," Daichi nodded and gazed at the computer, "You see something happened to him to make him get lost."

"Then shouldn't someone try to find him?" Iemitsu nodded and smiled tightly while Daichi poked the computer, making it wobble. "If he comes home, he can play football with my friends."

Iemitsu smiled warmly, hugged the boy tightly, earning a squeal from his son and breathed in the scent of his son's hair. Taking in several deep breaths, Iemitsu stared at the picture of the two boys. His youngest son didn't know anything about Tsuna, didn't even realize how a part of himself was missing, didn't even notice how their family wasn't complete without him. Their family wasn't going to be complete until Tsuna was back home, wasn't going to be as happy as it could be without the boy with them.

Honestly Iemitsu doubted he would ever be happy with Nana again even if he did find Tsuna, nothing could ever heal the wound of knowing his wife didn't bother telling him that their son was missing but he wasn't going to leave her or Daichi. He just needed to keep a better eye on her, to make sure that the same wouldn't happen to Daichi.

"Papa, are you going to play with me now!"

"Give me a few minutes Daichi and I'll be right down with you," His son nodded before jumping off of his lamp and started to make his way downstairs. Iemitsu sighed, gazed at the photo of the woman with Tsuna and then to the picture of baby Tsuna and Daichi. What was his son like now? Was he a playful active little boy like Daichi? Or was he a quiet boy like he was as a baby? What was his favourite food? Did he like to read or did he like to play outside more?

There were just so many questions Iemitsu had for the little boy, so many things he wondered about the son that was missing but at this rate Iemitsu knew it would be almost impossible to find their son. Somehow this woman who had managed to take his son had found a way to avoid all the world's database, make him seemed like a damn fool for not being able to find her. He ran a hand through his chopped hair, looking at the blond-haired woman that was holding his son.

He could not give up on the search for his son but as each day passed, Iemitsu knew his chances of getting his son back was dwindling.

The only question now was how long was it going to take him to find one clue about the woman in the picture?

* * *

Questions and Answers:

 **Will Sasuke and Naru have an important role in the KHR arc?**

 _Yes, Sasuke and Naru will be important figures in the KHR arc as they have important roles to play with the guardians._

 **Will Tsuna have the rinnegan?**

 _I don't have any plans for Tsuna to get any Kekkai Genkai or any dojutsu however he will learn the Fourth Hokage's moves when he gets older._

* * *

 **A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about the chapter. The next chapter will have a time skip to Tsuna's graduation and his team, please tell me who do you think will be the perfect jounin sensei of Tsuna and why. Also continue to ask questions, it gives me new ideas on what to do with the story or make me reconsider things.**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter and added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

 **Seven years later**

"Tsuna, are you ready for your exam today? Today is the ninjutsu portion of the exam right?" His mother asked him while she placed the breakfast onto the table. Hesitating, Tsuna nodded and took in several deep breaths as he willed his body to stop shaking. When he saw his body wasn't shaking anymore, he poured himself orange juice and told his mother that he was ready for this exam. She raised her eyebrow at him, glanced at his still shaking knees and sighed. "I'm your mother Tsuna, do you think I won't know you aren't nervous for this exam? Even though it's the final portion of the exam, it's still normal for you to worry about it. Y'know I was so nervous about the exam that I only ate two bowls of ramen with Iruka-sensei instead of my usual five bowls of ramen."

"It's just so scary Mama, if I mess it up then I'm not going to end up having the headband, which mean I might be the only one in my class who didn't get the headband," Tsuna admitted, taking a seat on the table. "I know I shouldn't have played with Ryo, Mio and Haruto! If those three haven't given me the puppy dog look then I probably would've studied more for that exam. I thought you and Papa told them not to bother me while I'm studying."

Shaking her head, his mother gave him a sympathetic look that just made Tsuna want to cry because wasn't it his parents job to make sure his younger brothers and sister don't bother him. "Y'know no matter how many times your father and I tell them not to do it, they would still do it even if I threatened to take away their manga and books," she gave him a small smile, "But Tsu-kun, I think it was a good idea for you to play with them. You can't study all the time, you still need time to play and relax, which is something you haven't been doing well this past year. Besides, your brothers and sister like to play with you, especially Ryo and Haruto. Those two really love playing with their big brother."

"I love playing with them too but what if I fail this portion of the exam Mama? What if I failed in all three portions of the exams, what do I do then? What do I do if I don't become a shinobi Mama?" His mother chuckled and shook her head before giving him a look that said he was being silly. "Why are you laughing Mama? This really isn't funny! If I fail these exams then I'm going to be the laughing stock of the whole class."

"Tsu-kun, I know you and I know you're going to do well in this exams," she looked at the old picture of her and his father's team, "You know unlike me, you put in more effort into your schoolwork and it shows in your grades. I know from the lack of sleep you've been getting that you're going to be fine. You've been studying all this time right Tsu-kun?" he nodded his head furiously, causing his mother to smile and ruffle his hair. "Then you're going to do fine in these exams, I know for certain that you're going to do way better than I did in those exams."

"Mama…Papa says anyone could do better than you in terms of school."

Mama's eyes twitched but she didn't make any of her usual comments about his father lying about her grades. Not that she could because Tsuna already knew from the countless stories from his mama's friends as well as Iruka-sensei that his mother did terrible in school. It wasn't her fault though. Tsuna knew from his mother as well as from the books that before his mother became a hero, no one in the village loved her. People hated things they didn't understand as his mother and father told him once. The people in the village at the time didn't understand the seal used by his grandfather and were still suffering from the loss of their family and friends. They needed a scapegoat for what happened, it was just unfortunate they chose to use his mother.

"Morning Mama! Tsun-niichan!" cried out his little sister as she walked down the stairs with her stuffed teddy bear in one hand. Tsuna couldn't help but smile at his sister, who gave him a big smile that displayed all of her teeth to him. She twisted her face into a small frown when she saw they were having for breakfast. "Mama, do we have to eat fish? Can't we have your pancakes? It's Aniki's exam so shouldn't we have some of your pancakes?"

His mother hummed. "I'll make pancakes after your brother finishes his exams until then you'll have to eat fish Mio-chan."

"Aniki when is your final exam?" His sister tilted her head. "Is it nearby? Please tell me it's nearby!"

Tsuna quirked his lips into a small smile and ruffled his sister's hair. "Don't worry Mio-chan, we'll be having Mama's famous pancakes tomorrow morning."

Mio cheered and gave him a bright smile before telling him that she couldn't wait for him to finish his exams so they could eat Mama's pancakes. Shaking his head at his sister, Tsuna smiled at her before ruffling his little sister 's hair. He then stared at his mother, who had a small smile as she shook her head at them. It was good to see his mother look so relax and happy instead of her usual looks of worries and frustration. Ever since his mother took the job of Hokage, all his mother seemed to be was stressed and worried about something. The same went with Shikamaru-ojisan, who usually helped his mother with her job.

"The last one down the stairs is a rotten egg!"

His mother sighed and rolled her eyes but the slight smile on her face told Tsuna more than anything that his mother was amused by the competition between his two siblings. If you asked Tsuna, it was really funny how Ryo was competing with their youngest sibling to a race but Ryo didn't care about logic. His brother used his heart and instinct more then his brain, something he shared with common with their mother as their father would often say with a scowl on his face. Their father always said that whenever Ryo did something reckless or did some kind of prank that annoyed the villagers.

The pranks were getting worse now that their mother was Hokage but Tsuna understood why. He understood his brother reasons for pranking, understood it better than his parents who seemed to be at lost with his brother's behaviour. Before their mother became Hokage, she spent so much more time with them. Every day, his mother would sing off-pitch to some silly song on the radio while she cooked. Every time his mother finished a mission, she would come back home and make time to play with them, not caring about the fact she looked so exhausted and always made time to put them in bed. Being Hokage had taken that away from his brothers and sister. Ryo hated it, hated the fact neither he nor his siblings were the centre of attention anymore.

It was just sad the only way his brother thought he could get attention from their mother was to do pranks that annoyed the hell out of the villagers.

"So Ryo, Haruto, Mio, mind telling me why you bothered your brother when your father and I told you not to disturb him while he's studying for his exams?" His mother asked when his two brothers took a seat beside Mio. The three children smiled nervously at the sight of their mother's narrowed eyes. "The three of you know the exam your brother is studying for is very important to him! I told the three of you that you can play with Tsuna when he finishes his exam."

"We just thought Aniki needed rest," Haruto spoke up, gazing at their mother with wide blue eyes. "We haven't seen much of him in the house! Mio-neechan and Ryo-niichan also said they don't even see him in the playground in the Academy so we thought maybe Aniki needed to play some games with us to stop thinking of the exam," His mother raised her eyebrows at his two other siblings, who nodded their head furiously at her. "I also haven't played with Tsu-niichan for a long time…he's much more fun then Ryo-niichan!"

"Take that back Haruto! I'm just as good as Aniki!" Haruto blinked and slowly shook his head, earning a pout from Ryo. "How is Tsu-niichan better than me in playing games? All he does these days is read those books of his."

"He makes it hard for us to find him in hide and seek," Haruto stated blankly, "Ryo-niichan is so much easier to find then Tsu-niichan so it's more fun to find Tsu-niichan. If I can find Ryo-niichan so fast then it's boring."

Tsuna laughed at this, earning a smile from his mother and two siblings while Ryo scowled at their brother's words. It surprised Tsuna at how much Ryo looked like their father but at the same time didn't really look like their father. Whenever Ryo scowled, Tsuna could see their father in him especially with his scrunched up nose but if his brother gave them a smile or make some kind of joke, Tsuna could really see their mother in him. Out of his three siblings, Ryo was the one who acted like their mother with his jokes and relaxed nature. Haruto, on the other hand, acted more like their father with his calmness and logical thinking.

If those two switched appearance then they would be a carbon copy of their parents.

"Hey Aniki is the exams as hard as everyone makes them to be?" Tsuna blinked and raised his eyebrow at Ryo, who flushed a light red, "It's just that I heard rumours that the people in your class find the written exam hard."

Curling his lips, Tsuna pondered over his brother's question. Was the written portion exam hard? He remembered there were some tricky questions in there that needed carefully analysing since the situation given to them seemed to be unlikely to happen. What did he write for that answer? Did he write about having a team member do a diversion with the dam while having two team members sneak inside the hideout? Or did he say to put genjutsu on the guards and putting genjutsu around the area to make it seem like the guards weren't knock out? He really couldn't remember what he wrote as an answer to that question. What he did know the exam wasn't as bad as people made out to be.

"It is suppose to be hard," His mother said, fixing her eyes on his brothers and sister. "Until last year, the written exams that the Academy used were too easy, not really telling us who is really ready to become a ninja or not. Some of the exams either overestimated the talents of some of the kids in last year's graduates…one of them died on their first C-rank mission and I doubt it would have happened if the exams were more difficult, helping us to pick out the more talent students from the average students. Really the written exams were too easy and the taijutsu portion is alright but seriously Kakashi-sensei should have made it more difficult."

"What do you mean Mama?" Haruto asked.

Their mother sighed. "They asked things, kids your age should have already learnt in their first year in the Academy like: name the five major countries in the Elemental Nations, name the Hokages and all other b…silly things," Tsuna blinked his eyes at hearing this, "If I wanted a shinobi who could tell me this then I'm better off making them a teacher then a shinobi. We live in a time of peace but it doesn't mean you guys can't use your brain and not make some kind of strategy to ensure people can survive. The academy is supposed to prepare you for your future in the Shinobi world and for that to happen, I need to make sure everyone in your brother's year know how to think in a hypothetical situation as well as use the knowledge they gain over the years in those situations. You only need to manage to stay a long time against your teachers to pass…not really what we need. This year we decided it to make sure the students try to get a hit against the sensei if they want to pass."

"Mama, you do realize not everyone can do that."

"I know Tsu-kun but the shinobi world is harsh, one small mistake in a mission can mean someone's life is lost. I need to find kids who can think in their feet or the very least have some guts," she quirked her lips, "Besides if you think this is bad, I don't know how you'll react to what we have plan for the chunin exams."

"You do realize that some of the questions might get different responses right?"

"I know but I'm not the one marking it," His mother smiled, "The ones who are marking it is going to be Iruka-sensei and Yasmashita since they're your teachers, they'll have to use their own experience to determine which responses are the correct answer."

Tsuna wanted to ask his mother why she decided to change the exams because he knew it wasn't just to make sure to lower the number of deaths. It was so much more than that but Tsuna didn't know how to ask her, didn't have the courage to ask his mother if the reason for making the exams harder was because of something else entirely different. What he did know was this, his mother had more than one reason for making the genin exams hard.

Something told him that those exams were more to do with him then to do with the genin.

* * *

"We've totalled all the scores from the taijutsu and written exams," Iruka-sensei announced when everyone in his class had finally calm down and finally decided to pay attention to him. Taking in deep breath, Tsuna stared at his friends all of whom had gulped at this announcement. He couldn't blame them for panicking after all the exams weren't as easy as they thought it would be and he couldn't tell them his mother did it on purpose. Something told him if he told them then they would find someway to blame him. "Half of you have a good chance of passing while a few of you need to pull through this exam if you want any hope of passing."

Any hope of passing! Did his whole class really do that terrible for Iruka-sensei to say something like that? Their sensei had always been hopeful, had always told them he believed in them, told them they could pass these exams but for him to say this just told him that these exams had eliminated most of his classmates. He licked his dry lips, gazed at his friends, who turned pale, and then to Iruka-sensei who looked unpleased to tell them this. Last year, everyone passed but thanks to his mother's plans; over half of the people in his class had failed.

"So without further ado, the final exam is on…the Bunshin no Jutsu."

At least this exam was going to be the easiest exam they have but Tsuna didn't know what the point was of making this exam easy while making the others hard. By giving them an easy exam, they were subtly raising his classmates hopes of passing these exams, which he didn't think was a good idea. After all, didn't his mother say she wanted to increase the chances of them surviving? If she wanted them to survive, shouldn't she make them use a harder jutsu and not an easy jutsu? Why was she making them use this jutsu of all jutsus? When this exam was over, he was going to ask her about it.

"You shouldn't be getting distracted Tsu-kun," Mirai said, drawing his attention to her. She gave him a smile and stared at the blackboard. "Y'know this is the last hurdle before we can get those headbands and accomplish our dreams. You can't accomplish your dream if you get distracted can you?"

He smiled at hearing Mirai's words before closing his eyes. "Distraction isn't an option if I want to become Hokage then I need to put all of my will into accomplishing my dream," he opened his eyes and stared at her, "But I can't help being distracted, this is the last exam Mirai…what if I fail this exam? What if I'm one of those people that needed this exam in order to become a genin?"

Mirai snorted and whacked him on the side of his head, causing him to yell out in pain. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, turned to them and gave them a glare that just made Tsuna want to curl into a ball and hide. He sometimes forgot how his classmates could be frightening when they wanted to be. Giving them what he hoped was his charming smile; he apologized to them before giving a glare at Mirai, who simply shrugged her shoulder at him.

"You deserved getting whack on the head," Tsuna blinked his eyes, "You're panicking for no god damn reason. You've had the highest grades in class! No matter how hard everyone else studied, we can't seem to ever beat you. Besides Tsuna, if you don't pass then what hope do some of the others have?"

"Y'know they'll say I pass because I'm my mum's son," He pointed out.

Mirai grinned. "Yeah but it doesn't mean you're Naru-obachan, I know you and I know that you worked your little ass off to get those grades you have! Besides we both know Naru-obachan doesn't show favouritism, she would never show or tell you what the exam was going to be. Now if you panic again Tsu-kun, I'm going to whack you in the head again and tell you again that you're going to do fine until it's drilled into your head."

He nodded his head, gave Mirai a tiny smile before staring at the door, where another student came out without a Konoha headband. It was times like these Tsuna was grateful to have Mirai beside him. For as long as Tsuna could remember, Mirai had always been the one to believe in him and snap him out of any funk he was in. She was also the only one who he knew without a doubt would walk hell and back for him if he asked her to. He would do the same for her. This girl was his first friend and maybe his truest friend, not caring about the fact his mother was the hero of this village.

"Alright Uzumaki Tsunayoshi, you're next!" Iruka-sensei called out, gesturing for him to make his way towards the examination room. Taking in a couple of deep breaths, Tsuna glanced at Mirai, who gave him a thumbs up, and smiled nervously at her, earning an eye roll from her. He couldn't help but smile at that, Mirai doing that told him more then anything she believed he was going to do well in the exam. If Mirai, his mother, father, his little brother and sister thought he was going to do fine then he was going to be fine after all. Besides, it was the easiest jutsu he had ever learnt! Only an idiot or someone with really bad chakra control could fail this portion of the exam.

He smiled when he passed one of his classmates, who had a huge smile on his face as he fiddled with the Konoha headband. If this classmate of his passed then maybe, just maybe, there was hope he was going to pass these exams too. Just the thought of failing these exams made his knee shake. If he failed this portion of the exam, how was his mother going to react? No, forget his mother. She would forgive him if he failed. How was his father going to react if he failed? The man had been training him since he was five for goodness sake, if he failed then it showed all of his father's hard work was for nothing. It would show his father had been wrong in deciding to train him and that was the last thing Tsuna wanted.

When he opened the door, Tsuna was greeted at the sight of Iruka-sensei and Yamashita-sensei sitting on the desk, a row of neatly displayed headbands in front of them. Having those shiny headbands in front of him helped to remind Tsuna of what was going to happen to him if he passed or failed those exams as well as who was counting on him to pass these exams. His parents trained him day and night, making sure he was strong, making sure his little brother and sister was strong enough to survive in this world. If he failed these exams, he was going to throw all that hard work away. The last thing he wanted was to throw all of that away from his parents, especially his father because that man while a sadist, was the one who pushed him to his limits.

"All right Tsuna, good luck," Iruka-sensei said, giving him a small smile while Yamashita-sensei gave him a thumbs up. He nodded, put his hands together, and channel his chakra.

 _Remember Tsu-kun even though you mastered the Academy jutsu, don't think you can slack off and not practice them! The same goes for the chakra control exercise your father and I taught you._

 _When you pass the exam tomorrow, I'll take you to Ichiraku and you can have all the ramen you want. You've trained hard in these past few days. Just remember not to overdo it or overthink things again._

 _The exams are going to be easy for Aniki!_

 _Tsu-kun, I know it won't happen but if you fail these exams, I'm going to make sure you're never going to forget it got it! So pass those exams!_

 _I can do this!_

"Bunshin no Jutsu," His chakra came forth from his body, flowing like a small stream this time as it swirled and whirled into the clones he needed. He could see three clones through the smoke, all perfectly visible and not as sickly looking like his mother's clones had been. He curled his lips as he increased the chakra for the jutsu. If he could make more of these clones, would it improve his chances of getting the highest grades possible? This final exam was the last thing he needed to make him become rookie of the year. If his father and grandfather were the rookies of the year then he could be too.

The smoke around him cleared, showcasing ten perfectly visible identical copies to his senseis. Iruka-sensei blinked and blinked before making his way to the clones, inspecting each one individually as if he was trying to see any flaws in his clones. Yamashita-sensei, on the other hand, simply looked at the ten clones with an opened mouth, telling Tsuna more then anything that his sensei was shocked by the amount of clones he had made.

"They're perfect," Iruka-sensei finally said as he waved his hand through the clones. "There's absolutely no fizzing in those clones, no sickly appearance and none of them have dissipate. The only person who did this well was Sakura-chan and even then she only managed to make three copies of herself. You're the first kid I saw in my life who made ten perfect clones."

"So…I pass?"

"You more then pass!" Yamashita-sensei grinned at him, "You earned it kiddo if you could make Iruka-senpai shocked! We can expect to see great things from you can't we Iruka-senpai!"

Nodding, Iruka-sensei stared at him and Tsuna couldn't help but wonder what was going through the older male's mind. Out of everyone he knew, Iruka-sensei had always been the one person he couldn't ever figure out. He couldn't understand Iruka-sensei's guilt just like how he couldn't figure out the reason why his mother felt guilt. With Kakashi-ojisan, Tsuna knew it had to do something with his grandfather and his teammates. With his father, it had to do with his mother and their mysterious past. His mother, on the other hand, was a mystery with her guilt. No amount of studying, of reading his mother's stories or asking her friends about his mother's past could explain her guilt. After all, his mother was the kindness woman there was so there was nothing she could have done to make her guilty right?

Still he couldn't make a decision until he had some kind of clue of what he was trying to search for.

It probably didn't help that he felt like he had the clue right in front of him but for some strange reason Tsuna couldn't see it clearly, and as such couldn't put it together just yet.

But one day, Tsuna was going to find out why his mother felt so much guilt even if it was going to be the last thing he would do.

* * *

Looking of the files of the potential genins and the suggestions Iruka-sensei had given her, Naru couldn't help but have a trip down memory lane. Was it so many years ago since Sasuke, Sakura and her were thrown together? She could still remember trying to gain Sakura's friendship, fighting with Sasuke for just being his asshole self, yelling with Sakura whenever Kakashi-sensei came to them with some flimsy excuse of why he was late. Was it really so long ago? Was it really that long ago since she became a genin? Was it that long ago since Sasuke left, leaving her with an aching wound that only healed when Sasuke fully returned to her side? Gazing into her adopted son's picture, Naru decided that yes time had really passed since her own graduation exam.

"Naru, did Iruka give you the files on the genin?" Shikamaru said, pulling a chair beside her. She nodded, gave him a smile and handed him the files to read, knowing it would be better if her advisor read through the files then her telling him everything. It certainly would save Shikamaru the trouble of asking her to repeat herself and she was too tired from the meeting last night when she had called her jounins, announcing the names of the people who she had chosen to be the sensei of this year batch.

She curled her lips as she remembered the files of this year Academy graduates. Some of the kids she already knew very well from all the times Tsuna invited his classmates over to the house to play or study but still reading those files put some things in perspective on potential teams. However, it wasn't enough for her to decide on the teams. If she went with Iruka-sensei's suggestions then Naru could already see problems brewing for the village, problems she was trying to avoid now. She didn't want history to be repeated again, didn't want to see any more innocent kids losing their lives for something that could have easily been prevented. It would probably be a good idea for them to do a personality test on the students and had some people spy on them because at this rate, they might lose the number of ninja.

"You haven't thought of where to put these kids at all," Shikamaru stated, handing her the file back.

She nodded. "You know me all too well Shikamaru. I just don't know if the information we have is enough for us to decide on the teams, don't you agree? It's good we have their stats and the exams shows that they've a lot of potential in becoming shinobi but we don't know them, don't know who they get along with or not, don't know anything about their personality. If we just simply put them the way our predecessor did then I can see several problems happening."

"They already gave us the files, it'll be troublesome to ask them to do more research on the students," Shikamaru pointed out to her. He gazed intently on Asuma's daughter like he always did whenever he saw any form of the girl. "I can see your point about the lack of information, it does make planning problematic."

"Kakashi-sensei should have made them do intensive research on the students from the moment they step foot into the academy and decided to become a shinobi," Naru rubbed her forehead. "Looking at these files isn't enough for us, we need to know more about them, about their problems and then we have to consider who is the perfect sensei for them. If anything happens to these kids, the blame is not only going to fall on their sensei but also on us. We need to make the teams balanced and not a train wreck like my team was."

"If you want that then you better first starts with the kids you know well, from there you could build the teams," Naru pursed her lips and nodded her head. "Start with Tsuna, the boy is after all your son."

Nodding, Naru took the school files of her son and started to read it, taking in any facts she didn't know about her son. Most of the things in the file were things she already knew, things like his grades and his friends but she did raise her eyebrow when Iruka-sensei described Tsuna as being hesitant about taking action on certain aspects in his planning. Would she describe her son as being hesitant in his planning? Tsuna was good in planning, which was a problem. It would be fine if he could make one good plan but the boy could make several, a feature Naru enjoyed and thought would be useful for a shinobi but her son couldn't pick a plan because he could never figure out what was the base one to use in a theoretical situation. Iruka-sensei saw that too because he pointed out the plans her son made were excellent but he needed to pick one plan.

Her son was damn lucky Iruka-sensei decided to not knock off one point from the exam because of this hesitance, if it was up to her then she would have taken off that one mark just to make sure he got it into his head that he needed to pick a definite plan.

"Tsuna can work with anyone," Naru finally said to Shikamaru, "If there's one thing Sasuke and me have been drilling to his head as well as in Mio, Ryo and Haruto, it's that they need to work with anyone if they want to get a job done."

"Can he work with someone who used to be like Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked, flickering his eyes at one of the files.

"You mean someone who doesn't like the idea of teamwork don't you? Or do you mean an asshole?"

"Troublesome. Even though the two of you are married, you still call each other names," Naru shrugged her shoulder. Shikamaru shook his head and gazed at the file in front of him, flickering his eyes at her then to the file before giving it to her. She raised her eyebrows and started to read the file, quirking her lips into a smile as she read the report before frowning when she read his family's name. The old man was letting this one become a ninja huh? She really wanted to know what the man was planning this time. "This kid is good in taijutsu and average in genjutsu and ninjutsu but he seems stubborn if that picture is of any indication."

"And you think Tsuna can make friends with the boy?"

"You said that boy of yours can work with anyone," Shikamaru pointed out to her. "That boy seemed to have the same charisma you have. Just like you, Tsuna can draw people in and make them open up."

She smiled. "He does have that talent doesn't he? Uzumaki have the talent to make friends with anyone!"

Shikamaru pursed his lips, gazed at the picture of her son then looked at her before shaking his head, muttering under his breath about her being troublesome. "The amount of detail Iruka put just tells me this kid is going to be a wild card for us. If he's really like you then he might be able to tame that boy," he sighed and placed the picture next to her son, "Now the only one we need to figure out is who will be the third team-member."

"Mirai," Naru picked up the picture of her son's best friend, examining the girl carefully before placing her picture next to the two boys. "If that boy has a similar personality to Sasuke then he won't be able to deal with a fan girl," she curled her lips, "And I need my son to survive, putting any of his fangirls with him is going to cause problems to them."

"Speaking from experience."

"The biggest mistake the Sandaime and Iruka-sensei had was putting Sakura with Sasuke," She rubbed her forehead, "If Sasuke hadn't left us the way he did, Sakura probably wouldn't have snapped out of her faze. Kakashi-sensei while a good ninja makes a terrible teacher. He should have used any means to make her snap out of that phase, to stop that fantasy she had of Sasuke. It could have gotten her killed," she sighed, "Kakashi-sensei should have also trained Sakura to her full potential, despite her grades in taijutsu, from the very beginning Sakura-chan had a strong punch."

"The only thing she lacked at the time was motivation and stamina," Shikamaru sighed, "We're really starting to talk like we're some old geezers. We're only 29 years old."

"Hey it brings back fond memories," He shrugged his shoulder, causing Naru to shake her head, "Anyways, what do you think about Mirai being put in this team? And answer it without being bias, I'll know if you're being bias Shikamaru."

Taking in a deep breath, Shikamaru picked up Mirai's file and then stared at her son's photo before finally fixing his eyes on the other member of the team. "Mirai might pick a fight with him because of the boy's personality. The troublesome girl as you know isn't going to let the boy enjoy some peace and quiet," he informed her, "It might lead to conflict in the team. Conflict in the team can lead to problems in missions but it won't be a problem if you can find a sensei that is willing to beat it out of their heads."

"Or a sensei who would find a way to manipulate the situation into making them learn on how to work together," Naru mused, rubbing her chin. "Mirai is also the only one in this year group that shows talent in genjutsu. From what I read, Satoshi is talented in taijutsu and I know Tsuna is good in both taijutsu and ninjutsu, but the boy leans more towards ninjutsu when fighting. It also doesn't help he isn't any good with genjutsu, give him everything else and he's great but there's something about genjutsu that Tsuna can't seem to get the hang with."

"You were the same too. You couldn't tell when you were put in genjutsu when you were his age…remember the chunin exams?" Naru laughed nervously at this reminder, "The only problem now is who is going to be their sensei."

She sighed, "Let's worry about that later. First let us just fix the other teams, we could talk about the sensei tomorrow but the teams can't wait unless…"

Shikamaru raised his eyebrow when he saw the mischievous glint in her eyes. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing you have to worry about Shikamaru," Naru chuckled, "I just have a good idea on how to fix this troublesome situation."

"…Why do I have a feeling, I'm going to hate it?"

Chuckling to herself, she shot the man an amused look before whispering him about her plans of fixing the current problem they were facing. Shikamaru gazed at her, looked up at the ceiling for a few minutes like he always did whenever he was contemplating about something before nodding his head in agreement to her plan. He didn't look pleased with her plans, not one bit but her friend knew as well as she did that this was the best course of action if they wanted to make no mistakes in setting the teams up. This wasn't an option. If they wanted to have a high survival rate for their genins then they needed to do this. Besides, it wasn't like anyone would know. Only the two of them would know about this and her future successor when she was ready to step down.

She didn't want to deal with a team that had the potential of getting hurt, of getting killed because the members of that team had personalities that just clashed with each other or simply hated each other guts. There was no way she was allowing the chances of more kids dying because of an adult's carelessness. She couldn't let it happen now more then ever because her son had just graduated, was nearly close in becoming a soldier for this village and Naru didn't want to lose her son or any of her other kids. She didn't understand how the First or Third could have been so careless with their decision when they had kids, when they knew one wrong move meant their child could get hurt.

There was no way in hell Naru was going to have a team end up like her team, broken and scarred from their past.

What she wanted were teams that worked like well oil-machine.

* * *

Sasuke loved all of his kids, both adopted and biological, with all of his heart. He loved spending time with them. He liked training Mio, Ryo and Haruto even if Ryo did get easily distracted by the smallest of things and did things that just reminded him of how much of his wife is in that boy. Out of his kids with Naru, only Ryo seemed to be the one who acted like his wife the most; the only thing the boy inherited from him beside his looks was thankfully his brains. He loved his wife don't get him wrong but he would be the first to admit that Naru sometimes wasn't the sharpest tool in shed. He liked teaching Tsuna on his chakra control and jutsu as well as hearing the boy ask so many questions about the shinobi world. After losing his parents, Sasuke decided if he ever had a family of his own that he would never _ever_ take it for granted again.

Still why must Ryo be so loud?

"Aniki is a ninja! Aniki is a ninja!" Ryo declared, grinning at his oldest brother, who flushed a light red as he rubbed his head in embarrassment at his brother's announcement. "Mio and I are the only one in our class who can claim that our brother is a ninja! We're the only one in our class that has a big brother, everyone else in our class either have no brother or sister or are oldest one in the family! Tsuna-niichan is a ninja! Now he can play with us without having too study and we can all have ramen because of Aniki!"

"Do you only think about food Ryo-oniichan?" Mio asked, taking a hesitant bite of the miso soup he made for them. It annoyed Sasuke how till this day, all of his kids and even his own wife were still hesitant to eat his cooking. "Besides who says we're eating ramen Ryo-oniichan? Since Aniki did well in the exams, he's going to be the one to decide where we're going to eat tomorrow, not you."

"But imouto…"

"Mio! You're only older then me by five minutes!" Sasuke sighed at his daughter's outburst. "I only call you oniichan because you'll cry if I don't!"

"I won't cry!" He argued. "Besides I'm older by five minutes so you've to call me oniichan!"

"I'm glad I don't have a twin," Haruto commented, making Tsuna and him nod their heads. "It'll be annoying to have a twin and shout about something stupid. If Ryo-oniichan is older than Mio-oneechan by five minutes then she has to call him oniichan even if she acts more smarter than him."

Sasuke curled his lips at his youngest son's assessment before glancing at Tsuna, noting how the older boy had a thoughtful expression on his face. Was Tsuna remembering his past with his biological mother and twin brother now? Was it even possible for Tsuna to remember something that far back? And if he did would Tsuna ask them about his biological family? A family that probably had ties to Naru's father, a family that hadn't noticed their son wasn't with them? If he asked them about his biological family, what would Naru and him say about them? Naru couldn't lie to Tsuna, couldn't tell him that his mother was loving because Naru didn't know anything about his mother. All his wife knew for certain that their son hadn't been happy there.

He sighed and stared out at the window, wondering if Naru's decision about not having them investigate Tsuna's family had been right. If their son was indeed related to Naru then it meant they needed to worry about the future, about his future. The underworld wasn't getting better, particularly the Mafia and Triad if what he heard from Fon was true, if anything the underworld was getting worse and worse, to the point where he heard rumours that one family was making kids as young as five killers. Fon had even taken a four-year-old girl in as his apprentice.

He didn't want to think how messed up those kids were going to be.

Then again, could they really talk themselves? Their son was no longer a little boy now. His son was nearly considered an adult with that headband, telling him as well as the world that his son was now old enough to drink, old enough to live on his own if he wished (not that it would happen because Naru would stop it from happening) and was definitely now old enough to kill. How the hell were they going to handle this? How the hell was he going to stop Naru from stalking their son in his missions and stopped her from only giving their son D-rank missions? No matter how much Naru was going to deny, she didn't want their son to become a ninja.

In a way, Sasuke knew that Naru was hoping Tsuna would fail the true genin exams next week so that she wouldn't have to give him missions.

The last thing Naru wanted was to lose their son.

* * *

 **Questions and answers:**

 **Will Naru and Sasuke get flames and learn to use them?**

 _I answered this in chapter 4 but to answer the question, I'm still not certain if I want to make them learn how to use the flames or not._

 **Will Tsuna be able to take the Varia by himself?**

 _That can be seen as debateable for some of the characters but by the time he is in Namimori, he can handle a few of the Varia members by himself._

 **Will the KHR Arc be soon?**

 _It will be after the chunin exams arc so I will say after five to ten chapters that the KHR Arc will happen._

 **Does Tsuna know about Kurama?**

 _Tsuna does know about Kurama but he doesn't know the complete details about how Kurama ended up being sealed._

 **Will Tsuna have a summoning contract?**

 _Yes he will but I'm not certain if I'm going to make him have Naru's toad contract or if I should give him something different._

* * *

 **A/N:** I know I said in the last chapter that this chapter will include his graduation and his team but this came to my mind but I promise the next chapter will have his graduation and team. Also I had a few people say they don't like the pairing for Tsuna, so do you guys think I should change the pairing for Tsuna or should there be no pairing for Tsuna? And if Tsuna is paired, who do you think he should be paired with? Also tell me what do you think of Mirai?


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed as well as to everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows.

* * *

"Mama, can't you tell me who is in my team?"

Naru couldn't help but sigh at her son's questioning, this must be the hundredth time this week he asked her about who his new teammates were. Normally, Tsuna wouldn't even ask her about these type of things but ever since he graduated from the Academy, he asked her about who his new teammates were. Rubbing her forehead, she glanced at Sasuke, who smirked and shrugged his shoulder before turning attention to Mio and Ryo, who were arguing about which one of them did the right homework. She glanced at her youngest son, who chuckled as he watched his two older siblings argue. Right, it seemed like no one was going to save her from her son's questioning.

Taking in a deep breath, she answered, "Uzumaki Tsunayoshi, I'm not telling you who is in your team."

The moment she used his full name, everyone became quiet and stared at the brown-haired boy, who flushed bright red. "Sorry Mama," he looked down at his hands, making her feel guilty for using his full name but she wasn't going to apologize because if she said then it's still a no. "I'm just scared that I'm going to be put with fangirls."

Ah so it was because of the fangirls that her son kept badgering her about his new team. She glanced at Sasuke, who gave their son a look of sympathy and she had no doubt he was remembering the early years with Sakura, not the proudest moment for their friend who pretended to think those days didn't exist. She nearly laughed out loud when Ryo looked at Tsuna with pity. It seemed like her son also understood the horrors of fangirls. Great, barely six years old and Ryo was already dealing with fangirls.

Why was it her boys that deal with them? Why not Shikamaru's son? Shikadai was just as adorable as her son so why wasn't he getting pestered with fangirls? Ryo, she could understand since he looked like a miniature Sasuke, only with blue eyes but why her Tsu-kun? Oh wait, he was her son which automatically meant he was going to be pestered with fangirls. It probably didn't help her son was a very smart boy who also showed signs of being a talented ninja. She gazed at Haruto, who furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at her. Oh Kami, don't tell her that her youngest son was going to be pestered by fangirls when he starts the Academy next year.

"Papa, why is Mama breathing like that?" Mio asked, gazing at them with confusion. "It isn't like a couple of fangirls are going to kill Aniki right? He's got experience running away from them."

His father snorted. "Mio, fangirls have the potential to kill anyone just not in the way you think," he shuddered, "Running away from them doesn't stop them from doing what they want."

"Will the stalking stopped now that I graduated?" Tsuna asked, looking wide-eyed at him. "Please Papa tell me the stalking will stopped."

"No, in any case they'll be more persistent," Sasuke shuddered, "It'll only stopped if you ever get a girlfriend, even then the chances are low, or if you become a criminal."

All four of their kids looked at him in confusion, reminding her once again how their kids didn't know about their father's past, about their clan's past and how they wouldn't know until Sasuke himself felt ready to admit it. No matter how many times she told him it wasn't his fault, no matter how many times she told him she forgave him and that it was in the past now, he still wouldn't forgive himself. Shaking her head, she poured herself some milk and gazed at her four kids, who were now talking about her eldest son's placement.

"Aniki, who do you want in your team?" Her oldest and only daughter asked, smiling widely at her oldest son.

Tsuna tilted his head. "Anyone would be fine but I don't want to end up with a fangirl Mio-chan."

"Aren't most of the girls in your class fangirls?" Naru grimaced at hearing this while Sasuke and Ryo gave her oldest son looks of pity and understanding, "Does that mean you only want boys in your team?"

"There are only two girls who aren't fangirls in my class," Tsuna took a sip of his juice, "I would be happy if I was put on a team with either Haruko or Mirai but if I got a fangirl that's still fine but…it will be terrifying and so challenging to deal with."

Naru glanced at Sasuke, who gazed at their son with approval at his assessment of what the situation would be like if he had a fangirl in his team. She sighed. Her husband was probably remembering the days where Sakura would follow him around, asking him if he wanted to eat with her and the other embarrassing things that both her husband and friend were trying to forget. Till this day, Sakura denied she was ever a fangirl and had taught her only daughter not to follow boys around.

It was a good thing too because Sakura's daughter seemed to be growing into a capable kunoichi.

Well she would be if her grandfather allowed it.

"Why would they be challenging to deal with Aniki?" Mio asked.

Surprisingly enough, it was Ryo who answered the question and not Tsuna. "Because they don't listen to anyone imouto! If you tell them anything, they won't listen! They'll do anything to get what they want!"

"You're talking about Rai-chan aren't you?" Naru raised her eyebrows at this and glanced at Tsuna, who shrugged his shoulder and mouthed the words 'She's the most persistent one'. "Ryo-oniichan, you didn't tell her that you didn't like her when she asked you to go with her to the movies. If you told her those words then she'll leave you alone."

Both Sasuke and her couldn't help but smile at their daughter's naivety, if only she could keep this a little bit longer but Naru knew that her daughter would soon have to lose it if she wanted to survive in this world. Shaking her head, she watched in amusement as Ryo and Mio argued about whether or not he told Rai he didn't like her. Her youngest son simply furrowed his eyebrows, looking so at lost about what was happening and it only reminded her despite being the smartest of the three, he was still a child. Tsuna just smiled and laughed at the two of them, which only made her smile at her son's behaviour.

At the same time, Naru couldn't help but feel guilt for making her son see this. She wondered if she was wrong in taking Tsuna away from his mother, from his own twin brother who he might have been close to. Sometimes, Naru couldn't help but try to imagine the life her oldest son would have experienced if he stayed in that small town. Would he have been as happy as he was now? Or would he have suffered? Would he live a normal life and loved it? There were just so many questions that couldn't be answered.

"You should stop thinking about the past," Sasuke said, snapping her from her train of thought. She sighed at his words and smiled when he took a seat beside her. "What is done is done. You can't do anything about it."

"I know…but I've to tell him the truth soon," Naru whispered, gazing at Tsuna, who smiled at his siblings, who were now discussing about what missions he was going to have soon. "He needs to know the truth and I know he'll soon need to confront _them._ I just can't find it in myself to tell him the truth, to tell him about what I did and everything else."

"He'll find out soon enough," he grimaced, "Especially if you really intend to put that boy in his team…what were you thinking putting a member there? You made a promise to that blasted old man not to get involved."

"I did didn't I? I'm keeping that promise but I never did say I wouldn't let Tsuna get involve did I?" Sasuke looked at her as if she was crazy, which she might be because what sane mother would do what she just did? But she was listening to her gut and her gut never lied to her before. "Something tells me even if I didn't get Tsuna involved with them then he was going to get involved sooner or later. Besides, Sakura-chan says he's a good boy…a little bit violent but he's still a good boy."

"You're putting a violent boy near Tsuna," He hissed, glancing at Tsuna. "What the hell are you thinking dobe?"

"The old man put his youngest son in the Academy. He didn't do that for Kenta or Ichiro but he allowed this kid to join," she quirked her lips and stared at Tsuna, who was now at a rush to go towards the Academy, where he would be introduced to his team. "That old man hates shinobis but he's allowed his kid to join the Academy, allowed him to become one of my soldiers and all I can think is this who better to keep Tsuna safe then a member of the Yakuza, besides Tsuna needs to know more about the underworld."

"Naru…"

"One day I'll need to contact my father's family," Sasuke grimaced at hearing this, "And when that day happens, I have a feeling our whole family will be in danger, that Tsuna is going to be stuck in the middle of this. Besides, I've been having strange dreams of a man that looks like my father telling me that I need to prepare Tsuna for the worse," Sasuke furrowed his eyebrow at this revelation, "I don't know why I had that dream but I do know that it's better for Tsuna to know how the underworld works now then to find out later."

"You're not planning to…"

"No but they probably wouldn't see it that way," She quirked her lips, "Besides even if I did want to take over the Vongola Family, they can't stop us. No one except for you can stop me from taking over that family."

"If you're not going to take over the family then why will you want to contact them?" He asked her, watching as their three kids debated on what game to play. "You know as well as I do…that the underworld will target us, target our kids if they knew there are more than one heir to that family."

"I know," she grimaced, rubbing the back of her neck as she stared at their three kids. "They'll see our family as a threat but if they dare think I'm going to sit there and let them hurt our family then they've another thing coming! No one messes with our kids and gets away with it."

Sasuke only gave her a smirk before kissing her on the lips, earning yells of disgust from all three of their kids. Naru couldn't help but laugh at this, wondering how lucky she could be to have her family. If you told her twelve-year-old self about having this future, her twelve-year-old self would have laughed and said she wouldn't ever marry Sasuke but it seemed like she was wrong about a lot of things.

She was happy she had been wrong about it.

* * *

"Did Naru-obachan tell you who is going to be in your team?" Mirai asked as the two of them of them entered the classroom and took their usual seats in the front row. He sighed and shook his head, earning a raised eyebrow from Mirai, who looked as if she didn't believe him. "Really? I thought Naru-obachan would tell you! Did you use your puppy dog look on her? She tells you everything when you give her that look!"

"Mama seems to have learned how to say no to my puppy dog look," The black-haired female looked at him with pity, "She got so angry with me that she used my full name at me! And didn't even tell me if I got a fangirl in my team…Mirai-chan if I have a fangirl, what do I do? I can't keep running away from them but I don't want to deal with their looks."

"Maybe actually telling them that you don't like them," He crossed his arms and gave her an irritated look, making her roll her eyes, "Y'know you look like Naru-obachan when you do that. Did you ask Sasuke-ojisan about what to do if you end up with a fangirl in your team? From what I heard from Shikamaru-niisan, your papa had loads of them and even ended up with one in his team."

"The only people in his team was Mama and Sakura-obasan," Mirai nodded and crossed her arms at him, "Are you saying that either my Mama or Sakura-obasan was a fangirl? Mama would never do anything like that and Sakura-obasan doesn't seem like that kind of person! She acts normal around Sasuke-ojisan! How can she be a fangirl?"

"Ah…maybe she grew up," Tsuna glanced at the girls, who were smiling dreamily at him, before raising his eyebrows at her. "What! Obviously, they aren't going to grow up now but maybe soon."

"If in six months time, a fangirl still follows me…I'm going to blame you and make you buy me all the cake I want."

"And if I'm right?"

"I'll buy all the dango you want."

"…We got a deal."

The two of them grinned at each other before looking at the blackboard, where Iruka-sensei stood there with his arms crossed and an amused smile playing on his lips. Beside Iruka-sensei was Yamashita-sensei, who had a huge smile on his face as he leaned against his foot. Huh, Tsuna hadn't even noticed those two were in the room but he had spent most of the time arguing with Mirai-chan about how hard it was to get his mother to tell him who was in his team. He should really listened to his papa's advice about being aware of his surroundings. He really did hate surprises.

Iruka-sensei looked at him and Mirai, gave them a smile before scanning the room at his former classmates, who were all chatting in excitement as they waited for their sensei to start telling them about their future. Today was the day after all where it was officially confirmed, the day where they were no longer students in the Academy and were now ready to face the challenges set by the ninja world.

Shaking his head, their sensei cleared his throat, effectively gaining the student's attention, and stared long and hard at the quiet students, who barely hid their excitement from him, "Starting today, all of you are real shinobi," Mirai grinned at him, earning a smile from Tsuna, "But all of you are still genin. The hard journey that lies ahead of you has barely even started and it won't be long before all of you will soon get missions to help the village."

Tsuna grinned at hearing this and thought back to the many stories his parents told him, the stories about their adventures as a team and their war effort. He was finally here, sitting in this seat and listening to Iruka-sensei speak to them about the future they would have. The first step of his dream was coming true, he was just one more step closer in becoming just as a good ninja as his mother and grandfather before him. He was still far away though of accomplishing his dream of becoming Hokage, of getting the damn hat from his mother.

Still, he was going to get that hat even if he died trying.

"…So today we create a three man team," Tsuna clasped his hands together, earning an eye roll from Mirai, who looked highly amused at his behaviour. Of course she wouldn't understand his pain, she didn't deal with fangirls on a daily bases. "And each team will have a jounin-sensei. You will follow your sensei's instructions in order to successfully complete your missions," Tsuna leaned forward at hearing this, "We've tried to balance each team's strength and put them with personalities that are compatible with each other."

They are putting them with people that are compatible with each other? Maybe, there was some hope for them after all. If he was lucky, really lucky, his mother had decided not to put him with any of the girls that followed him home or cooed over his younger brothers. If he was lucky, his mother either put him with a team filled with all boys or had him put with people he knew he could get along with.

He listened half-heartedly as Iruka-sensei continued on with his speech, detailing them about the hardships that shinobi faced and only started to perk up when Iruka-sensei started to call out team names. He checked off the names that were called from his mental list of potential teammates, noting how most but not all of his fangirls had been separated from him. So far it seemed like he wouldn't have to deal with fangirls but he couldn't be certain until Iruka-sensei called out his name. He placed his leg on the table, tapped the table and waited for his name to be called out. Finally:

"Team 9: Uzumaki Tsunayoshi," He perked up at hearing his name and suddenly noticed how some of the fangirls had perked up and were now giving their sensei hopeful looks, "Hashimoto Satoshi," Tsuna blinked his eyes, scanned the room to find his new teammate and suddenly noticed an irritated black-haired boy staring at him, "And Yuhi Mirai."

Looking at his best friend, Tsuna decided that he was going to thank his mother as soon as he got back home, give her as many hugs as she wanted and would make sure Ryo didn't bother their mother because his mother just saved him. She saved him from the torture, from dealing with fangirls and most of all giving him capable teammates. Slumping his shoulders, he glanced at Mirai who had a big smile on her face, then to their new teammate who simply gave him an unimpressed look.

He might have not gotten a fangirl but he had the feeling it was going to be a long time before Satoshi was going to get along with him but that didn't matter to Tsuna. He was going to make his teammate like him whether he liked it or not.

* * *

"Oi Tsuna, where are you going?" Mirai asked when their teacher finally dismissed them for lunch, telling them to come back to the classroom where their jounin teacher would pick them up. The younger boy smiled at his friend's eagerness before flickering his eyes around the area, searching for their missing teammate. He couldn't just tell his best friend he wanted to find their missing teammate so they could bond together, knowing Mirai that girl wouldn't like the idea of searching for a guy they didn't know his location. "C'mon, tell me where we're going?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tsuna sighed. "We're going to find Hashimoto-san, he's our teammate and we don't know him so I thought we need to find him, have lunch with him and get to know him after all we're going to be spending a lot of time with him."

"You want to find him? Y'know no one knows where he eats lunch," Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows at Mirai, who glanced at their classmates who were making their way to various lunch spots. "You think you're the only one with fangirl problems, Hashimoto-san also have problems with them…he doesn't have as much fangirls like you but it's still bad."

"How do y'know about this?"

"You're not my only friend," Mirai pointed out to him, craning her neck to look at the various spots where their teammate is. He furrowed his eyebrows at her, crossed his arms and waited for her to explain her words to him. "I'm also friends with some of the girls in the class and if they're not obsess with you then they're obsess with him," she scowled, "I don't understand why they're so obsess with boys! You guys aren't that different from us!"

"Mirai-chan, I don't understand to," he groaned, "I don't know why they like to follow me around and it seems like they're not following me around too but they also seem to be following my little brother too! What's it about my family that they want to follow us around?"

"You're your mother's sons," Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows at her, "We all know your Mama is a war hero as well as being the Hokage, if they date you then they can boast all they want about how they dated the Hokage's son. Pretty stupid if you ask me."

"That's a little bit harsh Mirai-chan," Mirai rolled her eyes at him before telling him that it was the truth since they didn't come here to find a husband but become kunoichi. Tsuna couldn't help but sigh at this. It scared him how Mirai could say the same things as his mother, who dislike all fangirls though his father claimed it was because he used to be followed by many fangirls, which annoyed his mother. Of course, his mother would deny it and say that if she did then she wouldn't have work with them, which would then lead them to talk about how he needed to learn to work with all kinds of people.

He stopped walking when he noticed someone sitting on the branches of the trees. Holding his hand up to Mirai, Tsuna looked up at the trees and smiled when he caught sight of their missing teammate, who looked so relax laying there. Taking in a deep breath, Tsuna looked up at the boy, "Hashimoto-san," this got the boy to look down and raise an eyebrow at them, earning a scowl from Mirai, "Can you please come down?"

The boy swung his legs around, stared down at him with cold green eyes, "And why should I do that Uzumaki?"

"Because we're teammates and I think we should get to know each other," The boy raised his eyebrow at him, "We're going to be teammates so that means we're going to be spending a lot of time together. Besides, I want all of us to eat together."

"Count me out," Tsuna blinked his eyes at the boy's immediate refusal while Mirai looked at him in confusion, "I don't want to spend any time with the golden boy or loudmouth over here. It's bad enough I'm put in a team with the Hokage's son and his friend, there's no way in hell am I going to spend more time with you guys."

"We're going to be teammates and for us to work well, we need to get to know each other," he reasoned, giving a warning look to Mirai, whose hands was ready reaching towards her kunai. The older girl scowled at him. "Getting to know us isn't going to hurt you will it?"

"Why should I get to know teammates? I'm only going to work with you guys, no where did it say I have to get to know any of you," Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows at his teammate while Mirai took out a kunai and threw it at the boy, who jumped up, making the kunai hit the tree branch instead of his arm. "You should aim better Yuhi-san, a little bit higher and you might actually hit me," Mirai gritted her teeth and was about to jump at the boy, only for Tsuna to grab hold of her arm and give her a look of warning. The black-haired male smirked. "Let me gets this clear to you guys, I don't want to get to know any of you especially you golden boy."

"Why?" The boy blinked his eyes at him. "Why don't you want to get to know me or Mirai?"

The boy didn't answer him, just simply stared at him as if he didn't know whether he was being serious or not before shaking his head at them. Tsuna blinked his eyes, glanced at Mirai before fixing his eyes at his teammate, who just scowled and shook his head before jumping down to the ground. He gazed at him with green eyes filled with so much hate and anger hat Tsuna felt his knees shake at its magnitude. How could someone be filled with so much hate? He had to ask himself, staring at his teammate.

"Answer him Hashimoto-san!" Mirai growled, grabbing another kunai from her pouch. "Why the hell are you so insistent not to get to know Tsu-kun or me? Whether you like it or not, you're stuck with us!"

Tsuna shook his head. "Mirai-chan, he doesn't have to answer us if he doesn't want to," they both blink their eyes at him but he just smiled at the boy, "I don't know why you dislike me but please don't take your dislike on Mirai-chan. She hasn't done anything wrong to make you dislike her, if you can't give me a chance then give her a chance!"

"Tsuna!"

"You really don't know why I dislike you?" Tsuna shook his head. "You've no idea on why the Hokage put me with you!"

"What does Naru-obachan have to do with anything? Why does it matter why she put you with Tsuna!" Satoshi pursed his lips at Mirai's words and suddenly Tsuna had the thought that the boy knew something he didn't, something that affected him, "Well tell us!"

"Why should I?" Mirai growled at him. "The two of you have no idea about our precious Hokage's past, have no idea of the things she has done just like the rest of the people of our village. I bet the two of you don't even know where she was raised."

"And you do?" Tsuna suddenly asked, gazing into his teammate's eyes.

He smiled coldly. "Perhaps I do, perhaps I don't but either way I'm not telling you unless you can beat me in a fist fight Uzumaki-san."

"Then that means you won't ever tell me," Mirai looked at him as if he was crazy while his teammate raised an eyebrow at him, "I don't know how you know about my mother's past but I'm not going to learn it from you! I'll just wait for her to tell me the story. I hope you can understand that I'm not willing for you to tell them."

His teammate gazed at him with unreadable eyes but Tsuna knew, just knew that somehow his teammate respected him for his words. Shaking his head at him, Satoshi looked up to the sky and then to them before finally saying to them, "It's your choice but know this I'm not going to listen to you until you earned my respect. I don't care if you're the son of the damn Hokage but you're nothing like her."

"Of course not, I'm her son."

His teammate shook his head. "You seriously don't know anything about her."

"And you do?" Mirai asked.

"Considering who my father is, yes," he smirked, "I think out of everyone in this village, the only people who knows the truth about your mother is my family."

 _He's telling the truth,_ a small voice in his mind whispered to him as he stared into the cold eyes of his teammate. Usually, he would listen to the voice but he didn't want to this time. He didn't want to acknowledge the fact that his own teammate wasn't lying about his family knowing his mother better than everyone else. Yet, his mother, despite her welcoming presence, was still filled with so much mystery, was still filled with so many secrets that Tsuna was afraid of what he had to hear from her. He certainly didn't want to learn about the dirty bits of his mother's past, didn't want to know the truth behind who raised her because if what he overheard a few days ago was true then his parents were involved with serious dangerous things.

It probably didn't help that if he heard his mother's past then he would have to hear her admit the one thing he had been denying, the one thing he didn't want to be true. Tsuna didn't want his mother to tell him the truth, to let him live in this fragile bubble of his.

After all if those dreams were true then the man in his dreams was actually right and there's a world out there that needed his help, well the underground world anyways.

He really hoped it was a dream because he didn't want to be involved with anything illegal.

* * *

"Mind telling me why you scheduled an appointment with me Kajiwara-ojisan?" Naru asked, placing her paperwork to one side as the old man took a seat in front of her. The old man grimaced, stared at the photo of her and her family before gazing back at her, reminding her of how many years had passed since they last had a talk like this. Wasn't it when he asked her to get Kakashi-sensei to let his youngest son go to the Academy? That must have been seven years ago on this very day. "I'm a busy woman so this has to be quick."

"It's about the boy," the old man admitted, rubbing his back as he stared at the photo of her father, "I want to know whose team you put him in and who his sensei is."

Naru furrowed her eyebrows at him. "In all the years I've known you, known about Satoshi, you never call him by his name," Kajiwara scowled, "Which is a shame since from what I heard, it isn't his fault that you couldn't keep it to your pants!" The old man glared at her, making her narrow her eyes at him. "You think I wouldn't find out about it? I found it odd you asked me to ask Kakashi-sensei to let Satoshi become a ninja since you never let kids under your care, except me, become ninjas so I asked Kenta."

"That brat told you."

"Yes since I threatened to tell Sakura-chan that her husband at the time was in the Yakuza," Kajiwara shook his head at her, making her smile, "You told me to use all the tools I have and blackmail against Kenta was the only way I can get the information I wanted. Imagine my surprise that the man who claimed to love his wife, had an affair behind her back with a kunoichi, who died giving birth to your son. Kenta told me that no matter how much you denied it, it's obvious to everyone that he's your kid. Which makes me question, why did you put him under my charge and not under yours? If anything happens to Kenta and his family or Ichiro then that boy stands to inherit the Yakuza, so why make him a shinobi?"

Kajiwara snorted. "Are you going to answer my question or not about who is in his team?"

"Are you going to answer my question on why you allow your youngest heir become a shinobi?" She retorted, crossing her arms at him. "You never give any of your kids freedom, you didn't let Kenta become a samuri like he wanted or Ichiru have the normal life he always dreamed so why did you let Satoshi become a shinobi."

"Do you know how hard it is for a bastard child to be accepted in the Yakuza?" Naru stared at the old man, who gazed at the photo of her father. "It isn't easy, it's near difficult especially with a kid like mine, who only inherited my eyes but have the personality of his mother. No matter how many times my oldest brat tries to drill it in his head to respect others, the boy wouldn't do it. He's also won't get much from the Yakuza."

"You mean if either Kenta or Ichiru become the boss, they won't be able to give Satoshi a high-ranking title," The old man grimaced. "So why ninja? Why not something completely normal?"

"His mother was a kunoichi, it's only fair I allow her son to become one," Naru raised her eyebrows at him, "And I know I can trust you to make sure my kid find a way to survive, if not because he's the same age as your own brat then because you owe me a debt, whether we both want to admit it or not. Also the civilians would not treat my son kindly if they knew he's mine and he isn't suited for a normal life. Now tell me who did you put in his team?"

"I put him with my son and his best friend," the old man curled his lips at hearing this, "I didn't put him there because of the debt I owe you since that debt isn't valid since I kept a blind eye about your actions in Japan," the old man shrugged his shoulders, "Your son is talented, more talented then some of the kids in his class or so the tests says. I put him with Tsu-kun and Mirai-chan since he's can balance them. His personality is a pain in the ass from what I can tell from the reports, but my son can break through him, break through the walls you made him put on."

"Do you really think that highly of your brat?" Naru raised her eyebrows at the old man. "Do you really think that brat can actually break down the walls my son made? He isn't like you."

"Thank god he isn't like me, if he was then I would've to deal with more pranks," She shook her head as she remembered the number of pranks Ryo had done towards her and Sasuke, "Tsuna isn't like me or like Sasuke, he's his own person. If I was dealing with a kid like yours, I would do everything in my power to make him tell me why he acts like an asshole," Kajiwara growled at her but she scowled at him, "Your son is an asshole and don't deny it, out of everyone in your family, only Kenta isn't an asshole. Now back to the topic at hand, Tsuna. He's going to be patient and he won't push that boy to tell him, he will know what to do to make the boy trust him, which makes him worse then me because the boy won't be able to blame Tsuna if he does spill anything, he has only himself to blame."

"That makes the boy more like Sawada," Naru grimaced at hearing her father's surname, "He used to do the same thing to your husband's father, always patient when dealing with him and never seems to question his actions. The same went with the Hyuga clan head."

"What does Hinata-chan's father have to do with my father?"

"They were close friends," Naru blinked her eyes at hearing this, "Before your father's death, before his brother's death, the Hyuga clan head used to be a man that smiled and laugh without a care in the world," she shook her head, making the old man chuckle at her, "Is that really hard for you to believe? Children aren't the same when they were adults and people change when they grow older. The Hyuga clan head changed when he lost his mother, just ask any of the older generation about what the man was like as a child and they would tell you in a heartbeat he was the complete opposite to who he is now."

"The loss of his mother made him an asshole."

"No, if that's the case then he would've been an asshole since he was sixteen," Naru raised her eyebrows at the old man, who shrugged his shoulders. "Losing your father changed him and his brother, it also changed Fugaku and it changed your sensei. If your mother had been alive, she would have changed too because losing your father gutted them."

"Why?" Naru asked, raising her eyebrow at the old man.

"Because they have no sky," She furrowed her eyebrows at him, "Your father was like a sky to them, so open to them, accepting them despite their actions but most of all for being there for them."

"I don't understand."

He shook his head at her. "Ask Kenta sometime about the sky, he'll explain it to you because that's all I can tell you. I'm still listening to that old man of yours about keeping ignorant about some aspects of his life…though you're just like him, drawing people in just like the clear blue sky," he chuckled, "If you were my child, I would have name you Sora, it suits you more than Naru. What were they thinking naming you string?"

"Y'know I don't understand."

"Well I ain't explaining to you what I just said, if you are the Hokage then you'll be smart enough to figure out what I'm trying to say," He shook his head and stared at the photo of her father before glancing at her, "You and your kids are like the sky, it seems none of them are like the cloud."

And with those words, he left her alone in the office, confused and worried of the hidden message that he was trying to leave her.

* * *

"Shikamaru-niisan, why the hell are you here?" Mirai asked as soon as the three of them entered the classroom, where their eager classmates sat in their seats, staring at the row of Jounins that stood before them. The older male sighed and gave her a look that Tsuna knew all too well as being his uncle's annoyed face. He sighed. It seemed like his mother must have either made his uncle come in or had blackmail the man to come, either way his mother did something to make him annoyed.

"That's Shikamaru-sensei to you, Mirai-chan."

"He isn't our sensei yet so he's still Shikamaru-niisan."

"Her logic makes no sense," Satoshi commented, earning a scowl from Mirai and a small smile from Tsuna, "Even if it turns out he isn't our sensei then Shikamaru is still going to be our teacher."

"You need to call him Shikamaru-sensei," Tsuna corrected him.

The boy gazed at him and then to Shikamaru-ojisan, who just stared at them with emotionless eyes. Tsuna blinked at this. Not once in his life had his uncle ever looked at him or Mirai like that, he always looked either lazy or just happy to see them but never emotionless. He glanced at his friend to see if she noticed this but from the way Mirai was beaming at the sight of his uncle, he could tell she hadn't notice anything wrong.

"The three of you need to get to your seats," Iruka-sensei said, gesturing for the three of them to take the remaining seats in the front row. Tsuna nodded his head, grabbed Mirai and Satoshi's hands and pulled them to the front seat, ignoring the two preteen cries of protest of being pulled. He didn't want them to make a bad impression of their sensei, didn't want his mother to think that none of them would get along.

Slumping down in his seat, Tsuna stared at Shikamaru-ojisan, who was scanning the room of his ex-classmates. He felt his whole body froze when the man stared at him, then to Mirai before finally looking at Satoshi, who scowled at the attention that most of the teachers were giving them. His uncle sighed, shook his head and muttered something under his breath. Tsuna pursed his lips, wondering why his uncle was here in this room. He couldn't be teaching one of teams could he? Surely not because who was going to help his mother with her work? His father couldn't help his mother, not when he had his own network to do.

His mind was so wrapped up with wondering what the hell was going on that he almost missed Iruka-sensei calling out for team nine. He stood up and shuffled over to the teacher's desk with Mirai and Satoshi right behind him. Iruka-sensei glanced at him and Tsuna smiled at his teacher, hoping that the teacher would understand that he was alright. Iruka-sensei smiled back at them before gesturing for Shikamaru-ojisan to come join them. "This is Nara Shikamaru as the three of you will know. He'll be your jounin teacher, I wish the three of you the best of luck."

Shikamaru-ojisan gave them an observant look and told them, "I've a feeling the three of you are going to be troublesome."

Mirai pouted at him while Satoshi growled, looking ready to attack their sensei and would have attacked him if he hadn't pulled his shirt's collar. Shaking his head at them, Shikamaru-ojisan just sighed and muttered something under his breath about how Naru seemed to like to make his job difficult. Somehow Tsuna had an idea his uncle wasn't actually being serious about his annoyance with having them. If anything Tsuna thought that his uncle was excited to teach them, well wouldn't mind to teach them since his uncle never got excited about anything.

He glanced at his teammates, noticing how Satoshi was eying their sensei with curiosity and weariness as if he knew something they didn't but Tsuna doubt it. What could his teammate know that he didn't? And why did he look at his uncle like that? The more and more he looked at his teammate, the more curious he was about his teammate and the things he knew about his family.

Something told him that his teammate didn't come from a civilian family like his name implied, Tsuna thought to himself, staring at his classmate's cold eyes. His teammate wasn't like the other civilian boys in their year; this guy seemed to be more prepared about the future.

He couldn't wait to learn more about this scary teammate.

* * *

Shikamaru stared at the three kids in front of him, gazing first at his old sensei's kid, then to Naru's oldest son before finally looking at the bastard son of the Yakuza's boss. He pressed his hand in his pocket and gestured for the three of them to take a seat in the swings. Mirai-chan smiled and took a seat, the boy Satoshi gazed at him with weariness before taking another seat and Tsuna just stared at him, looking so different from Naru was at his age.

Naru would have immediately sat down without question but Tsuna was trained by Sasuke and Naru not to listen without questioning. Even at times of peace, his friend was still training her kids to make sure they would survive and Shikamaru did not blame her. Anything could happen, one day they could live in peace but the next day they could be in war. It was for that reason alone he agreed to Ino's ideas of making their kids learn the clan techniques very young.

"I know two out of the three of you well but not that well…so tell me about yourself," they blinked their eyes at him, reminding him of little lost deer that he used to catch as a child, oh how he didn't miss those chores. None of them answered. "Troublesome, I guess I'll begin. My name is Nara Shikamaru. I'm the advisor of the Nanadaime Hokage. I like to play Shogi and taking naps," Mirai snorted at this, earning a shaking head from Tsuna while Satoshi grimaced. So, two of them weren't going to take him seriously, this was going to be an interesting exam. My dream is to see all three of you become good ninja."

Twelve years ago, his dream was suppose to be having a normal life but with Naru as his friend and boss, he scrapped that idea away. It became more apparent when he married Temari. Of course he wouldn't tell those three that, not when one of them was going to tell Naru who would smile and tease him about it.

Bad enough how she teased him about his dreams as a child was already gone.

Tsuna glanced at his two teammates and then cleared his throat. "I'm Uzumaki Tsunayoshi. I like spending time with my brothers and sister, training with my parents and cooking. I hate people who abandon their friends, anyone who thinks that I got here because of who my mother is and anyone who don't take the time to get to know someone," Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and made a mental note to tell Naru about this, "My dream is to become Hokage!"

He already knew about the boy's dreams but to hear him say that again, reminded him of all the times that the boy used to come into his friend's living room, jump into Naru's arms and declare out loud with a big smile on his face that he was going to become Hokage just like his grandfather and Kakashi. Had it already been seven years since that boy came into his life?

Mirai grinned widely at them, reminding Shikamaru how much that girl didn't act like either of her parents but seemed to have somehow gotten Naru's personality rub off on her. Well her best friend was the son of Naru and the girl did spend a lot of time in Naru's house. "I'm Yuhi Mirai but you guys can call me Mirai or Mirai-chan! I like to eat dango, study Kaa-chan's illusions, reading any books that I can get my hand on and training. I dislike anyone who insults my friends especially Tsu-kun," that earned a flushed look from the embarrassed boy, "My dream is to become just as good as a ninja as Naru-obachan!"

He couldn't help but smile slightly at hearing this, remembering how the young girl would rush towards his friend and ask her to tell her stories about all her battles. It was a good thing Mirai wasn't a fangirl because he didn't know how he would be able to get the girl off her daydreams. It took them a whole two years to make Mirai realize that it wasn't possible for her to become a ninja princess.

He blamed Naru for putting it into her head.

Satoshi grimaced and glanced at the three of them before finally speaking, "I am Hashimoto Satoshi. I like training with my older brother with swords," Shikamaru nodded, remembering what Naru and Sakura said about his brother, "I like fighting and I like getting information. I hate fangirls and I hate _my family_ and anyone associated with them," he grimaced at hearing this while his two other students looked at him in horror. "My ambition is to become my own person and not live under his thumb."

Right, he had a student with daddy's issues. Now that explained why this student had been so troublesome to the teachers in the Academy but this meant that he was going to have to actually do investigation on them. He inwardly frowned at this. Naru wasn't going to accept it, not when they spent a whole week following all the students to get to know them. They already invaded their privacy she would say and that she owed the old man.

She wouldn't say the last bit but it was implied whenever Sasuke brought up the topic about the man.

"Now that we've finish the introduction, it's time I tell you about the test."

The students blinked their eyes at him, looking at him as if he was crazy for saying that. He nearly smiled at this, wanted to taunt them for a little bit just like he did to Choji when he got stuck in the hospital and couldn't eat.

"What do you mean by test Shikamaru-niisan!" Mirai cried, breaking the silence between them. "We did the exam last week! We became shinobis so there's no point of us doing a test again!"

He shrugged. "That was an Academy test but do you really believe that all of them will become genin? True the exams this year is hard but not everyone has the qualities to become shinobi," they all narrowed their eyes at him, "And some of the students might have passed by luck so we need to weed those people out. Only two-thirds of the people who graduated will become genin, though there may be a year where more people become genin or less people become genin."

"What happens to the failed students?" Satoshi asked.

"The failed genin returns to the reserve Academy, where they're put through an accelerated program that churns out the capable, if not exceptional ninjas," He leaned against the tree, "I'm not certain if the three of you should become ninjas."

"When's the test?"

"Tomorrow morning at training ground Seven," he gazed at the three of them, particularly at Mirai who he knew loved to sleep in, "It starts at six."

"B-But that's too early!"

"Too bad," Shikamaru drawled at the younger girl, earning a laugh from Tsuna and a stoic look from the black-haired boy. "If you're a minute late, I'll know."

"What kind of test is it?" Satoshi asked.

"It's a secret."

He couldn't help but laugh out loud at their angry expressions and thought to himself that maybe having those three as his students wouldn't be so bad. Of course, if they passed his test but Shikamaru had no doubt those three would pass.

If they didn't then he was going to lose the bet he made with the others and the last thing he wanted was to lose his money to Ino and Choji.

* * *

 **Q &A**

What is Tsuna's main chakra element?

 _Tsuna leans more towards fire then to the other elements._

Will Iemitsu get along with Naru and Sasuke eventually?

 _Well you just have to wait and see because if I tell you then it would ruin some of the plot points for the story._

Will Naru eventually seal Kurama into Tsuna?

 _No, she won't do that to Tsuna. As you can see so far in the story, Naru isn't the type of person or even a mother who would do something like that to her child and even then it won't be in Tsuna since he isn't related to her maternal family and will be very risky for him._

What is the KHR Arc?

 _The KHR arc is basically the arc where Tsuna goes back to Namimori and meets the others, there is no KHR arc in the anime or manga._

Will Tsuna meet his guardians or will Reborn lead Daichi to them?

 _Well Tsuna would arrive a little before Reborn so he'll meet most of his guardians before Daichi._

* * *

 **A/N:** I had decided from the votes that Tsuna will still be paired with Mirai however their relationship progress will be very slow and will not play a huge part of the story. Also please tell me what you think about this chapter? Particularly on Satoshi and Kajiwara.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who added this story to their favourites and follows as well as to everyone who reviewed this story. I'm sorry it took too long for this chapter to come out.**

* * *

What the hell was their sensei going to test them on? This was the one question that burned through Tsuna's mind as he ate dinner with his family. They had been tested on everything in their exams: genjutsu, ninjutsu, taijutsu, strategies, geography, science and heck they even had questions to do with history in their exams. They had been tested on everything so what on earth could Shikamaru-ojiisan use to test them? What on earth could he test them on? Tsuna sighed, curled his lips and glanced at his parents and shook his head at the sight of them having one of their silly arguments about how much trouble his mother caused.

"I didn't cause that much trouble," his mother protested as she handed the second plate of food to Ryo. His father snorted, earning a scowl from his mother. "I didn't cause that much trouble! I might have skipped a couple of lessons…"

"If you thought it was boring then you'll skip the lesson and for you everything was boring," His father pointed out to his mother, who shook her head at him. "Don't bother denying it Naru! Ask anyone and they would also tell you that you skipped school whenever you want."

"If Mum skipped school a lot then she has no right to scold me when I do it!" Ryo butted in, earning narrowed eyes from their mother, the shaking head of Mio, who slumped her shoulders at him, and the raised eyebrows from his father and him. "Why are you guys looking at me like that? It's true isn't it?'

"Your mother has every right to scold you when you skipped school, she's your mother," His father stated, placing his cup of tea down on the table. He sighed and stared out at the window. "Your mother scolds you so you don't end up making the same mistake she did. If you asked your mother or even Tsuna, they will tell you that your mother's biggest regret is skipping school."

"Why? She's still Hokage even though she skipped school," Ryo asked as he poured himself a glass of orange juice. "There's no point of me going to school! If Kaa-chan can still become Hokage even after skipping school then I can still be a ninja if I didn't go to school."

"Ryo-kun, Mama was lucky to become a ninja," His younger brother blinked his eyes at him, "Mama failed the genin exams three times and only became a ninja because she proved to Iruka-sensei she was worthy of becoming a ninja by doing something incredible. Tell me Ryo, do you want to be the one who passed in their first try? Or do you want to fail so many times? Mama wasn't taken seriously because of that…y'know?"

"Is that true Mama?" Haruto asked, staring wide-eyed at their mother while Ryo tilted his head at him, looking torn on how to answer that question. "No one took you seriously…didn't Papa took you seriously?"

"No, I never took her seriously but she proved me wrong…she proved everyone in the village wrong," His father admitted, looking away from his mother who just had a wide grin. His father took a sip of his green tea, stared at the four of them with an unreadable expression and continued, "I was the best in school…"

"That's debateable!"

"I was definitely better than you in every aspect in our lessons!"

"We had a tie in taijutsu once!"

"You were just lucky and I was distracted!"

"By what? There was nothing to distract you!"

"Hn!"

"Excuses, excuses!"

"How does Mama know what Papa is saying when he grunts like that?" Mio asked as their mother tried to figure out what she had beaten their father in. Tsuna shrugged his shoulders before ruffling his sister's hair. His sister laughed at this before trying to fix her hair. Sometimes Tsuna couldn't help but believe this was a dream. For some strange reason, he couldn't help but think that this life of his was too good to be true, that he had a mother who loved him as much as his siblings and a step-father who spent half of his time in the village and the outside world.

Maybe it had to do with those nightmares with that brown-haired woman and of a blond-haired boy who looked exactly the same as him. For some strange reason, he dreamed of having to watch the brown-haired woman giving toys to the blond boy while giving him none. He dreamt of the woman ignoring him, only paying attention to him when he tugged on her clothes and crying to the blond-haired boy, who just looked at him in confusion before going to the woman, who would just scoop up the boy and play with him.

For some reason, that dream always made him want to cry his heart out.

"Aniki, what's wrong?" Haruto whispered, glancing at their parents who were still debating on the subjects his mother beat his father in.

Tsuna stared at his youngest brother, then to his mother and shook his head, causing Haruto to pout. "There's nothing wrong Haruto, I'm just thinking about tomorrow," his brother blinked and furrowed his eyebrows, which just told Tsuna that his brother wanted to know why he was thinking about the future. "Tomorrow something big is going to happen and if I do well in it then…"

"Then we'll bring all your teammates here," His mother spoke up, stopping everyone in their tracks. Tsuna blinked and blinked at his smiling mother while his father shook his head at her. The twins glanced at each other before nodding their heads vigorously at them. "I forgot to ask you to invite them over to our house today but I'll love to meet them tomorrow."

"You already know one of my teammates and I don't know if my other teammate would like the idea of meeting you," His mother frowned at hearing this. Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck, avoiding his mother's gaze, "I-I don't think he likes our family that much."

"Why Tsu-niichan?" Mio asked. "What did our family do to him?"

"Nothing…I think," He tilted his head and looked at his parents, "Mama, Papa, you guys haven't done anything to Hashimoto-san and his family to make him dislike us have you?"

His mother shook her head. "No, we haven't done anything to have his family dislike us."

Sighing, Tsuna slumped his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. His teammate liked him for no reason or if he did have a reason then his parents didn't know it. He licked his lips. How was this going to work for them? All his life, his parents had drilled to him that he needed to get along with any teammate he was given, told him his teammate was going to be like a second family to him and were the people he could count on when his parents weren't there for him.

He let out another breath. "Is your teammate bothering you Tsu-kun?" Tsuna looked wide-eyed at his mother, who laughed. "Don't look so surprise Tsu-kun, I'm your mother. I know you like the back of my hand. Now tell me what's wrong with Satoshi?"

"How do you know his name?"

"I remember the names of anyone a part of my kids' life and I was the one to put him in your team," His siblings looked at his mother in confusion while his father just shook his head at them, "Now Tsu-kun, tell me is there something about Satoshi I should know about? Did he say anything bad to you?"

He shook his head and smiled. "No, Hashimoto-san hasn't said anything bad to me. He just said he didn't like me and asked me if I knew why you put him in my team. That's all. He didn't say anything else."

His mother shook her head but didn't seem to push him for more details, which was a good thing because Tsuna didn't want her to have a bad impression of his teammate. Hashimoto was interesting to him because besides Mirai, only Hashimoto seemed bother to tell him how he felt about him. If there was one thing Tsuna learnt to value from being his mother's son, it was the idea of honesty. He didn't like the way some of the kids would smile widely at him and say things to him when they felt the opposite of those words.

"Give Satoshi time Tsu-kun," Tsuna stared up at his mother, who had a small smile on her face as she stared at his father, who looked away from her. "People like Satoshi have lived a hard life…they've been rejected or have been forced to things that kids their age shouldn't have been forced to see. It's for that reason and many others that whatever they say to you is a lie."

"And how do you know that Mama?" Mio asked.

"Your father," Everyone looked at his father, who grimaced. "All your father ever said was rude things after he lost his parents. Everyone, even me, thought your dad was the most rudest, arrogant man that you could ever meet. It wasn't until I was put into a team with him that I saw the little boy I grew up with."

"I wasn't a little boy."

"You were and don't even bother arguing with me about it or else I'll ask Sakura-chan about it too!" Sasuke scowled at this, making everyone laugh. His mother shook her head. "Anyways, Tsuna when it comes to Satoshi and people like him, the only thing you need to do is be your loving self. He can't ever dislike you if you're your usual self."

"Mama?"

"Tsu-kun, you have a talent that so many people would die to have, a talent that only us Uzumakis have," His mother smiled softly at him. "If you asked your father, Hinata-chan or even Shikamaru, they'll tell you that we seemed to have a talent of drawing people to us."

"Does that mean we have it too?" Ryo asked.

His mother grinned and flicked his brother on the forehead. "You're my kids aren't you?"

They all smiled widely at her, making his mother smile so wide that Tsuna couldn't help but wonder how someone's smile could be so warm and how much their mother enjoyed being around them. Tsuna couldn't help but notice how his mother always seemed to be her most happiest whenever they were at the dinner table. Sometimes, Tsuna noticed how his mother would look teary-eyed at them and how sometimes she would say about how this life they were living was like a dream. He didn't know what it must have been like for his mother and father growing up without parents, without feeling the warmth of a family.

"So what did we inherit from dad if we inherited your talent?" Ryo asked.

"His brains/My brains!" His father and him spoke up.

All of his siblings laughed while his mother shook her head at them. "I expected that from Sasuke but my son! You even got Tsuna to agree with you!" Sasuke smirked while Tsuna just smiled apologetically at his mother, making the blue-eyed woman sighed. "Fine you two win but that means you guys are doing the dishes!"

Sasuke scowled while Tsuna slumped his shoulders at the blond-haired woman, who shrugged her shoulders at them.

"Mama, is that a good idea? You said that we should never let Papa do the dishes," Haruto gazed at Sasuke with a frown. "You said Papa should never be near the kitchen ever since my birthday party."

His father smirked, causing his mother to smirk even wider. "Your father won't clean the dishes, he'll wipe them if he doesn't want to sleep on the couch."

"Mama brought up the couch."

"Papa is more grumpy when he sleeps on the couch."

Staring at his family, Tsuna silently thanked the gods for giving him his family, for giving him a mother like his and even for giving him annoying siblings that he knew he could always count on. He hoped these times with his family would continue like this. It was for that reason alone and so many others, he wanted to become Hokage.

He wanted his family to always stay like this.

* * *

"How can you be awake so early in the morning?" Mirai asked when he reached the training ground the next day. The black-haired girl rubbed her eyes, laid down on the ground and stared up at the sunny sky. "Tell me Tsuna! Tell me what the hell you do to wake up so early in the morning! How can you do it! How can you be so cheerful in the morning?"

"I have three younger siblings who like to jump on top of my bed," He took a seat beside her, "Ever since Mio and Ryo were born I have never known the meaning of a quiet morning. If they aren't jumping in the bed then those two are running down the stairs, begging Mama to make them their favourite food."

Mirai laughed at this. "I can see Ryo doing that but Mio? I can't see her acting like that. She never seems to be the type to act spoiled…she never causes trouble, not like Ryo. Are you sure Ryo is related to you guys?"

Narrowing his eyes, Tsuna pursed his lips at her. "I know Ryo causes problems with his pranks, I haven't forgotten about how he snuck into your room, rip the pages of your diary and show it to the whole village," Mirai growled at the reminder, "But Ryo isn't bad, he's just hates the fact he has to share our mother with the whole village now. Mama used to be there for everything …and now she isn't there for everything."

"So? My mum isn't there for everything," she gazed up at the sky, "At least he has your dad to take care of him and be there when your mum isn't there…y'know my mum couldn't be there for everything. You didn't see me doing pranks."

"No but I do remember you going into a corner and pretending that everything was alright when we both knew it wasn't alright," Mirai slumped her shoulders, "You're right, we do have Papa but Papa isn't always there. Y'know just after we had dinner, Papa decided to tell us that he was going to be away for the next few weeks."

"Did Naru-obachan give him a mission?"

"No," Tsuna stared at the trees where he suddenly noticed a figure lying on the branch. So there new teammate is here? Well, he didn't know how much he heard but Tsuna didn't care what he hear because as far as he knew, it was alright for people to know his father wasn't in town. "Mama hasn't given Papa a mission yet, the last time he ever did an official mission for the village was two months ago which was just an escort mission. Also Mama would have warned us beforehand…even if it was an emergency."

"Then why would he suddenly leave like that?"

"I don't know," he pressed his hands on his forehead, "Papa never tells us about what he does on those trips or where he goes. For as long as I could remember, he would leave the village for one month in a year, going to gods knows where to get information."

"And Naru-obachan lets him?"

"Yup," he laughed, "She says trying to force my father not to do it is like talking to brick wall, crazy and stupid! You can't control my father…people like my father aren't people you can give orders too. She always say how he's like the cloud, doing what he wants."

Mirai laughed at this and shook her head. Tsuna couldn't help but smile at seeing his friend's laugh. These next two weeks weren't going to be good for his friend or him either since she was going to be more moody then usual. He grimaced. His mother was also going to be busier than ever in the next two weeks too with all those meetings and preparing for the anniversary of the last war. It really was hard for Tsuna to believe that it had been twelve years since the war and ten years since his mother came back here with him.

"Y'know I just realize something…where's that bastard of our teammate?"

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tsuna glanced at Satoshi. He took in a shaky breath when he noticed the frosty look his teammate was giving to Mirai. How could green eyes show so much anger? How could his teammate act like this to Mirai? He wanted to yell at him, wanted to ask him what his problem was but something told him not to do it. There was this feeling inside of him that told him that his teammate wasn't angry at Mirai but at something else entirely. If only he could figure out what, if only he could figure out how to work with this problematic teammate of his.

"Mirai-chan, Hashimoto-san is right here," Tsuna pointed towards the tree behind her and nearly laughed when Mirai yelped at the sight in front of her, "And it isn't nice to call our teammate a bastard. He's going to be working with us if we passed this test."

"I don't want to work with him!"

"It's not like I want to work with you too or even the golden boy!"

"See! Why the hell did your mother put him in our team!"

"I told Naru it was a terrible idea of putting you three together," All three of them blinked their eyes when they caught sight of their teacher walking towards them. He stopped walking, looked at Hashimoto and gestured to the ground. The black-haired boy pursed his lips and did what he said. "It's too early in the morning for the two of you to argue."

"Tell that to the bastard!"

"It isn't like you're innocent too bitch."

"You didn't just call me bitch!"

"The two of you stop it!" Tsuna yelled, earning surprised looks from his teammates and a raised eyebrow from their sensei. "The test is going to start soon and you guys are already fighting!"

"But he started it!"

"Mirai, it doesn't matter who started it! What matters is the fact we need to get along!" He smiled widely at the older male, who looked torn between being amused or annoyed. "We can fight later but we need to start the test don't we Shikamaru-sensei? I really want it over and done with!"

"When you talk like that I can see how you're her son," His uncle sighed. "It's troublesome to do a test but it's more troublesome to deal with Naru's anger if she realized I didn't make you guys do a test."

"So what's the test?" Mirai asked.

Shikamaru-ojisan gave them a smirk that just spelled trouble, that just told Tsuna that they weren't going to like what he has to say. "You have to locate and capture me before 9am," all three of them blinked their eyes at him, "If you fail to find and catch me then you'll fail…the last one to find me will be disqualified from the exams."

"Wait a second when you say locate you…does that mean this isn't the real you Shikamaru-niisan?"

"You catch on fast," Their teacher grinned, "This is just a shadow clone of course, did you really believe if I did a test like this that I would send myself here."

"You really want to make our life hard don't you?"

"For a boy who skipped class so many times, you aren't slow on the uptake."

Satoshi scowled at the older male, looking ready to grab the kunai from the kunai pouch and throw it at their sensei but stopped himself from doing so. It must have to do with the fact that he also realized that he couldn't pop their sensei just yet as he could give them a clue on where he was or what they could do.

"How big is the area?"

"The whole village," Satoshi and him blinked their eyes while Mirai just raised her eyebrows at their sensei, "You don't believe me do you?"

"Of course not."

Shikamaru-ojisan simply sighed before popping out of existence. Tsuna winced at the sight before glancing at his two teammates, who all stared grim-eyed at where their sensei once stood. Their sensei didn't give them any rules, just told them that they needed to search through the whole village to find him. He frowned as he realized that they just had three hours to find their sensei and capture him but how were they going to do that? It would take a while for him to find their sensei after all if he had used a shadow clone then he must be somewhere far away.

"How the hell am I going to find him?" Mirai snarled.

"Che. It's easier for you two then me!" Satoshi snapped. "I've never met the advisor of the Hokage until yesterday! You guys have a better knowledge of the man then me! He's a friend of your mother and the so-claimed brother of shaggy-head."

"What did you call me?"

"You heard me."

"Can the two of you stop arguing!" The two pre-teens stopped and stared at him, making Tsuna flushed red as he tried to figure out how to get the two to stop arguing and start getting along. "We need to work together to find Shikamaru-sensei."

"You want us to work together!" Mirai yelled. "Look Tsuna, I respect you and all and you're my best friend but there's so much I can take! You can't expect me to work with that bastard!"

"If I'm a bastard then what are you!" Satoshi snarled. "You're nothing but a bitch!"

"Why you little…!"

The two of them stopped talking when Tsuna glared at the pair of them. Mirai flinched while Satoshi just stared at him, giving him a look that just told him how much Satoshi disliked him, disliked being told off but Tsuna didn't care anymore. Their future was on the line, his dream job was on the line and if anything ruined it, if they made one small mistake then hell would be raised. His mother might have taught him to be kind, patient and persistent but it was his stepfather who taught him the value of releasing his anger every few days and not being a pushover.

"The three of us are going to work together and find our sensei," He said calmly, gazing at the two of them with stern eyes. For a brief moment, Tsuna swore that Satoshi gave a look of surprise at him but it changed to resentment, which made him wonder what was going through his teammate mind. "Mirai and I do know our sensei well but there's a reason why my mother put you with us. Shikamaru-sensei said he thought it was a terrible idea to put us together but my mother must have seen something in you to make her think that you're perfect for our team. Now why do you think she put you in our team?"

"I don't know, the only reason is because of what my family is connected with," The black-haired boy grimaced, "But what use is my family to the exam?"

"What does your family do?"

"Do you really want to know golden boy? It might shock you, it might horrified you and you might see me differently if you knew the things my family does," his teammate smiled sardonically, "Tell me golden boy…do you still want to know after hearing this?"

"You're my teammate, nothing you say will make me look at you differently," Tsuna grinned, "Besides you're a good guy aren't you? After all if you weren't then you would've attacked our sensei immediately."

"Your logic makes no sensei," Satoshi grumbled, "But if you're sure then I'll tell you…my half-brother is the head of the Han-Dan gang," they all blinked their eyes at him, stared at his bared arms before raising their eyebrows at him. "Not all members of the Yakuza have tattoos! And no I didn't do the initiation to become of them! I'm not a part of them…my darling _step-mother_ and _father_ made sure of that."

A cold feeling shot through Tsuna when he heard the way his teammate spoke of his stepmother and father. The way his teammate spoke of them told him just how much his teammate hated his father and stepmother, how much resentment this teammate of his had but most of all the lack of emotion that his teammate had in his green eyes. It was in that moment Tsuna wondered if his mother put them with him because the boy in front of them never really became a kid, if she put the boy in their team because she really did see his stepfather in that boy.

"So if your brother is the head of the Han-Dan gang…so he must have taught you the streets right? Because if he did then you know all the streets in this village," Mirai declared, earning a raised eyebrow from the two boys. "Why do you two look surprise? Everyone in the village knows that any member of that gang knows the village like the back of their hand, the only one who knows it better is Naru-obachan!"

Satoshi stared at them. "I do…any member of my father's family needs to know the village like the back of their hand."

"So if you do then you know a good hiding spot," Mirai grinned, "If I know Shikamaru-niisan like I think I do then he isn't going to go to any places that we know of…it needs to be a quiet place where he could see clouds, a place where he could not experience any nagging."

"That would be the smart thing to do," their teammate acknowledged, "The only place I can think of is a small patch in the forest since no one knows about it. Now how are we going to fight him?"

"We wear him out," Tsuna smiled widely, "Shikamaru-sensei constantly thinks and has a plan for everything but he can't think of everything if we all attacked him together can he? Especially if Mirai-chan uses her genjutsu, my traps and Satoshi taijutsu."

"Why my taijutsu?"

"That's the only thing I can think of as to why my mother put you with us," Satoshi blinked his eyes, "Mama doesn't care about anyone's family, you can be a criminal and Mama wouldn't care as long as you have a good heart. I'm not that good in taijutsu…Mirai is way better then me or you in genjutsu and is predictable with her taijutsu if you asked Shikamaru-sensei…so that leaves you! You're our ace!"

Their teammate stared long and hard at him before curling his lips into a scowl but that only made Tsuna smiled because he felt in his heart that his teammate wasn't really annoyed with him. With that in mind, the three of them started to hatch up a plan that would surprise their sensei. None of them realized that their sensei was already listening in to their conversation.

It would only be three hours later after they were wrapped in wires springs but they were able to punch and kick their sensei that they learnt that their sensei had been listening in to their plans that whole time. It would only be then that Tsuna realized he needed to be more aware of his surroundings but also valued his teammates because their sensei told them that they only passed because of their teamwork.

Of course Tsuna didn't know that just yet.

* * *

Shikamaru had his doubts about the team given to him by his friend. He knew it was a good idea to keep Tsuna with Mirai because the girl was able to make sure that the boy knew how to have fun and relaxed but he didn't think it was a good idea to have the bastard son of the Yakuza's last boss in the team. The boy screamed trouble with the amount of times he skipped class and the amount of fights he had gotten with the previous students as well as being very much like Sasuke in being an asshole but Naru didn't listen. She didn't care about all that because she thought the boy just needed someone there for him. She thought that person could be Tsuna.

He shouldn't have doubted her because she was right. The boy wasn't getting along with his teammates but Shikamaru could see he was slowly falling into Tsuna's trap, the same trap that he fell for when he first met Naru. If it weren't for that day, he doubted he would have ever been as happy as he was right now because if Naru was his sky then he was her mist. Shikamaru sighed and shook his head before leaning against the tree, where he knew his students had correctly guessed where he was.

He sighed when he saw the silhouettes of his three students behind the trees in front of him. If he were anyone else, he would believe that those three were really in front of him but Shikamaru did his research on them, knew two of them really well and had only heard rumours of one of them. The technique was very good, Shikamaru thought to himself, as he made the hand sign to remove the genjutsu. It just needed some work but for only being twelve years old, Mirai very much had talent in genjutsu because a chunin would have been fooled by that.

As soon as he released the genjutsu, he heard the tree branches cracking and without a second thought, Shikamaru blocked Satoshi's kick. He winced as he felt the whole impact of the kick. For being twelve, the boy was strong in his kicks. Then again, he needed to be if his brother was the leader of that Yakuza gang. With that in mind, Shikamaru pushed the boy away from him. The boy growled before swinging his arms at him. Shikamaru ducked and dodged as the boy continued to hurl his punches and kicks at him.

He blinked his eyes when someone kicked him in his back. Dodging Satoshi's kicks and punches, Shikamaru turned his head around and smirked when he caught sight of Tsuna staring at him with determined eyes. So did those three change their plan? He asked himself as he found himself being forced back. If they did then those three were really something because he had never considered the possibility they would since Mirai always stick with one plan and hates changing her plans.

In the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of the wire springs. Even though, those three were good, they were still newbies and with that in mind, he continued to fall back until he was certain that those two kids were going to get wrapped up by their own traps. Jumping up to the tree branch, he watched as both Tsuna and Satoshi got wrapped up by the wire springs, which seemed to come out of everywhere, swinging and wrapping the two into a tight embrace. Shaking his head, Shikamaru scanned the area for his last student and sighed when he caught sight of her taking a nap in the field, where her shadows was fully in display for him.

Jumping down to the ground, Shikamaru glanced at the two boys and laughed at the look of pure horror in both their faces. "Are you just going to leave us like this?" He shrugged his shoulders. "Why the hell are you shrugging your shoulders like that? Aren't you going to help us?"

"If I help you, would you tell me where your other teammate is?"

"No!" The two boys yelled.

They disliked each other but Shikamaru could see that they already had loyalty to each other. They might have failed in capturing him but all three of them passed the test. He was wrong about those three kids, maybe Naru had a point of putting those three kids together. She did always see things that no one else did. She also thought of things that no one else did, hence fulfilling the idea that she was the most unpredictable ninja.

Sometimes, Shikamaru wondered if Naru was really the sky and not the mist but then again, she was welcoming to him and wherever the sky was, eventually the mist would follow.

He would make sure that his sky's son as well as his old sensei's kid lived.

* * *

Had it really been nearly eleven years since Naru and him came to this town? Sasuke couldn't help but asked himself as he placed his arm in his pockets and stared at the pedestrians who all looked so happy, so normal as they walked through the park. It had been nearly eleven years since he came here with Naru, nearly eleven years since Tsuna came to his life and changed everything between Naru and him. If they hadn't came to Namimori eleven years ago, Sasuke doubted he would have the life he had now.

If it weren't for Tsuna, Naru and him wouldn't have talked about her father, wouldn't have made Naru question the man who helped raised her and certainly wouldn't have gotten drunk that night. Did he regret how their relationship begin? No, he didn't because it was them. They always did things the opposite way around, the two of them even got married only after the twins were born and that was because his wife didn't want them to marry because of those two.

Shaking his head, Sasuke stared at the crowds of people. All of these people might have a connection to his oldest son, all of them could be a potential parent to his son or the brother his son never really knew. He ran his hand through his hair as he thought about Mio and Ryo, who despite being different gender still had a close bond. He couldn't imagine tearing them away from each other so how could they do that to Tsuna and his brother? Did they feel as if something was missing or what? He couldn't help but have these thoughts.

He felt his heart grow heavy about the next couple of days ahead. Tomorrow, he would have to go to the hospital and search for any kids named Tsuna or with the word Tsuna that were born thirteen to twelve years ago. His wife might not want to know who Tsuna's family was but he did, not because of Tsuna (though it did play a role because he didn't want give Tsuna no information), but because the fact that Tsuna looked like Haruto as well as Naru's father wasn't a coincidence. In his whole life, Sasuke didn't believe in the idea of coincidence but of another thing entirely.

It probably didn't help that his father mentioned that Naru's father had an uncle he loved and worshipped, an uncle that was Naru's grandfather younger brother. Sasuke didn't know why his father mentioned him in his journal since he didn't seem that important but apparently Naru's father loved his uncle and his wife to the point that he talked about them more then his own parents. In his father's words, it seemed as if this uncle raised Naru's father more then his own parents did.

Still, if that was the case then why did he run away? What was the cause of Naru's father running away from home? Why would a man that had a family run away from home? And why the hell did his great-grandmother talked so fondly about Giotto to him? There were so many things that needed to be answered and he wouldn't get the answer in Konoha…especially from that old man, that blasted old man who kept saying that he needed to keep his promise to Naru's father.

If he could ignore his youngest son's existence then he could break that promise!

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the sound of something coming towards him. Without blinking his eyes, Sasuke caught the ball with his hand. He examined the ball closely, noticed how worn-out the ball was before twirling it around. For a brief moment, he remembered the days where Naru would come up to the playground with a wide smile on her face as she tried to convince him to play a game of ball with her.

Of course being the kid he was, he said he didn't want to play with some snot-nosed girl.

"Oji-san, can you give us back our ball?" Sasuke blinked his eyes when he saw a blond-haired boy standing in front of him. He felt his blood turned cold as he realized that the boy in front of him looked too much like his oldest son. Was this boy related to his son? Naru did say that the only difference between the two boys was their hair colour. He narrowed his eyes at the boy, who was standing straight as he looked at him.

With a sigh, Sasuke gave the boy his ball but before the boy could leave, he asked, "Kid…what's your name?"

The blond-haired boy blinked his eyes at him, glanced at his friends that were waiting for him before answering. "Sawada Daichi."

"Sawada Daichi…any relations to Sawada Ietsuna?" He prayed the answer was no because if it was then their family tree was going to get really complicated, really fast. If it get really complicated then it would take some time for him to explain the family tree to Naru and the last thing he wanted was to spend hours explaining it to her. His wife didn't understand difficult concepts and he had a feeling that this was going to get really difficult.

"Yeah, he's my grandfather!" The boy frowned. "How do y'know my gramps Oji-san?"

Sasuke grunted. "Hn. Did anyone tell you that you ask too many questions for your own good? I have some business to do with him. Tell me does your grandfather live in this town?"

The boy grinned. "No one ever said that to me! Okaa-san never seems to answer my questions or just ignores them while Tou-san isn't around enough for me to ask him any questions. Anyways, my gramps live in Sicily at this time of the year."

Looks like he was going to go Italy instead of going to the hospital. He just hoped that he would be able to get home like he promised because if Naru knew he was doing research on her father's family then he was going to get a scolding of a lifetime. If there was one thing he couldn't handle, it was dealing with his wife's scolding especially when she was pregnant.

He just hoped when he got to Italy that he wasn't going to meet that curly-haired bastard again.

* * *

 **Q &A**

 **Q: Tsuna's brother won't be an ass in the future?**

 **A:** Tsuna's brother will be an interesting character when Tsuna meets him again so you just have to wait and see.

 **Q:** **How is Iemitsu's investigation going?**

 **A:** Well you will see how it is going in the next chapter.

 **Q: Will the original 10** **th** **gen Vongola will be Tsuna's guardian or his twin's?**

 **A:** In the beginning I was thinking that the original 10th gen Vongola will be Tsuna's guardian but now I'm thinking that it'll be different.

 **Q: Will Tsuna's new friends become his guardians?**

 **A:** Originally no but now I'm debating about whether or not to make them the guardians.

 **Q: Naru is still going to be Hokage right?**

 **A:** Naru has already became Hokage in the seven year time skip.

 **Q: Will Reborn become one of Naru's guardian?**

 **A:** No, he isn't one of Naru's guardians as Naru's guardians have been formed in her childhood.

 **Q: Will there be funny scenarios between Sasuke and Reborn?**

 **A:** There'll be plenty of funny scenarios between Sasuke and Reborn when they meet again.

 **Q: Does Naru have guardians and if so who are they?**

 **A:** Yes, Naru have guardians but I won't be telling who they are but as you can see in this chapter and the previous chapters, Shikamaru and Sasuke are one of them. The rest you can take guess and if anyone gets any one of the guardians right, I'll pm you.

 **Q: What age and rank will Tsuna be when the KHR arc begins?**

 **A:** He'll be thirteen when the KHR arc begins but I won't tell you the rank.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think about this chapter. I know it was short but there wasn't much inspiration for me to write this chapter. Also in the next chapter, Sasuke will meet a KHR character, can anyone guess who it is?


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I know it has a been a while since I last updated but it'll be a while before I can pick up a good pattern for updating my stories with school and everything. I know that this chapter isn't as long as the other chapters but the next chapter will be so much longer then this, I promise.**

* * *

It felt weird not having his stepfather meet his teammates with his mother, Tsuna thought to himself as he watched his mother prepare her special homemade ramen for his teammates. For as long as he could remember, his stepfather had always been there for all the big events in his life and for him not to meet his teammates right after he officially became a shinobi felt weird. His father always planned those trips of his not to be anywhere near any special events but something important must have came up for his father to leave them like this. It had to be very important for him to leave them the way he did.

"What's on your mind kiddo?" His mother asked as she placed the noodles into the broth. She rubbed her hands on the apron, gave him a smile before taking a seat right in front of him. "Something has been on your mind since you came back home."

"Isn't it weird Papa left us the day before I officially became a genin? I thought he would have wanted to meet my teammates," he licked his dried lips, "Papa never ever leaves for his trips when it is close to a special event. So why did he leave us like that?"

His mother sighed. "I don't know why Sasuke left the day before you officially become a genin," she smiled, "But I know he wouldn't have left if this trip wasn't important to him because nothing in the world would have made him missed this. He wouldn't have missed this or the twin's birthday if he didn't think that this trip of his was important."

"What does he do in those trip of his?" He couldn't help but asked his mother as he laid his head on the desk. She raised her eyebrows at him. "I'm curious Mama! I've always been curious to know what Papa does when he goes on those trips of his! He's been doing them for as long as I could remember but I never asked because I wasn't a shinobi yet. Now I am and I want to know more about the other duties that shinobis have."

"Your father is a special type of shinobi," His mother pointed out to him, gazing at the pot of ramen. "Unlike most shinobi, your father will not listen to my commands unless it is for the greater good of this village. He always tries to find out information and for him to do that, he needs to catch up with his informants who don't live around here," she scowled, "He doesn't even tell me where they are! Or give me a week notice that he's leaving! If it wasn't for the fact I know your father I would drag his sorry arse here. I don't like the fact he's leaves us especially now that I'm..." His mother shook her head, "Never mind, I just hate the fact that he leaves us but I know he'll come back. He always come back."

"And if he doesn't then you will drag Papa home right? Just like you did after the war?" He asked, remembering the stories his Aunt Hinata used to tell him. "They say the only reason why Papa came back was because of you."

"I wasn't the reason why he came back," His mother said firmly. "Tell me do you think your father is the type of a man who would come back for a woman? Is there a man who would come back to a village who disrespected his family because of a woman? Your father is many things but when it comes to emotions, he's just like your brother. He can't deal with emotions...though he wasn't as bad as his brother."

"Itachi-ojiisan right?" His mother nodded. "Why didn't you name Ryo after him? I thought father would want to honor his brother by naming his first-born son after him."

She curled her lips into a smile. "We nearly did but I didn't want your brother to compare himself to his uncle, to have the same fate as him. I also didn't want Sasuke to look at our son and think of his brother instead seeing his son for who he is," she sighed, "Though I think he does that with Haruto."

"Why Haruto? Haruto looks like me and you!"

"He does, doesn't he?" She gazed at him and for a moment Tsuna thought he saw regret in his mother's eyes but as soon as it was there, it was gone, making him wonder if it was a figment of his imagination. "Haruto does look like us but he is a serious child just like Sasuke's brother was. He's just as bright as him too and it isn't a surprise that like you, he catches on quickly and unlike Ryo, he already knows why I can't always be there for him," she shook her head, "I worry that he's going to grow up too quickly."

"But Mama everyone is going to grow up eventually."

There was a strange look in his mother's eyes but it was gone before he could figure out what it was. "Yes eventually, everyone grows up," his mother stared out at the streets before giving him a smile, "but it doesn't mean I want you or your siblings to grow up. I still want you to be the same small boy who would rush into my room whenever he had a nightmare," he flushed red in embarrassment, "I still want you to say that girls were icky and that Mirai and I are the only exception to it," she pouted, "But you just had to grow up! Before I know it, you'll be going on dates and I'll have to find someway to test those girls."

"Mama!"

"What? I'm not letting you date any girls that don't meet my exception!" She declared hotly. "And you're not dating until you're thirty."

"Y'know you can't stop me from dating! And isn't it every mother's dream to see their son date and get married?"

"Do all sons have a mother who is a Hokage? Or get constantly stalked by almost all the girls in the village?" She pointed out to him. He smiled sheepishly at her. "Besides you're my little boy. You're the person who made me a mother, if I let you go then that means it won't be long before I've to let the others go."

"Even if you let me go Mama, I'll always come back to you. Nothing in the world could make me not go back to you because you're my Mama and that's all that matters right?" His mother smiled at him and before Tsuna could blink his eyes, his mother pulled him into a tight hug. He relaxed into his mother's hug but as he closed his eyes, Tsuna could see a younger version of himself silently watching a brown-haired woman hugged a blond-haired boy that looked so much like himself.

He shook his head and tightened his grip on his mother's shirt before gently pushing her away from him. His mother pouted but didn't complain about how he pushed her away, instead she gave him a bright smile and ruffled his hair. "Someday he might not think like that especially if he knows the truth," his mother whispered to herself, making Tsuna frown at himself. He opened his mouth to question her but the door ranged, stopping him from asking his mother about what she meant by the truth.

Shaking his head, he made his way to the corridor and opened the door, blinking his eyes when he caught sight of Satoshi standing there with his Aunt Sakura's daughter, who smiled widely at him. He raised his eyebrows at his teammate, who scowled. "Sakura ordered me to bring the brat with me," he said if that was reason enough for him not to question him. It was because no matter what his parents said, his Aunt Sakura was a terrifying woman that one should never argue with. "If she's causes problems then it ain't my fault!"

"Satoshi-ojiisan!"

"How many times have I told you not to call me that?" The older boy said gruffly. "Satoshi is enough!"

"Tou-san says that I've to call you ojiisan since you're his brother," the girl explained, pouting at him. "And you're his brother so that makes you uncle! Ichiro-ojiisan says the same thing! And Kaa-chan says you don't have to listen to what Grandma says! She's a meanie anyways."

Satoshi gritted his teeth but didn't say anything to the red-haired girl, only muttering curses under his breath about how his older brother should keep his daughter under control. It was strange, Tsuna thought to himself, how the boy seemed to manage his temper around the girl. The girl smiled widely at her uncle before staring at him. "Is Haruto home?" She asked, snapping him from his train of thought, "And Mio-chan? I want to play ninja with them!"

"Mio-chan is in her room," Tsuna flickered his eyes towards the staircase, noticing how his youngest brother was coming down the staires with a book in his hand. His brother stopped midway, furrowed his eyebrows and mouthed the words 'who's there?'. Tsuna smiled and mouthed 'Jun'. His brother paled and shook his head at him. He nodded his head. And Haruto is in the living room. I think he'll be so _happy_ to see you Jun-chan."

"Really?" She narrowed her eyes. "He's not reading one of those big books again is he?"

"You know my little brother so well Jun-chan."

The red-haired girl scowled, shook her head and rushed inside the room, leaving Satoshi standing outside the house in bemusement. "Haruto is your brother? The boy that my brother's daughter likes to play with all the time? The one she can't stop talking about? He's your brother!" Tsuna nodded his head. "The brat won't live a day in peace if she continues like this."

"I didn't know you were Jun-chan's uncle...so her father is the leader of the Han-Dan clan. Does Sakura-obaachan know about this?"

"My brother isn't a complete idiot," Satoshi said, placing his hands in his pockets as he entered the house. "He knows it's better for her to know what he does for a living...it's a deal breaker for my brothers. If they think they're serious with a girl, they'll tell her...it never ends well."

"It seemed to end well for him," Tsuna pointed out as they entered the living room, where his brother was giving him a scowl for telling his teammate's niece where he was. He smiled sheepishly at Haruto before gazing at Satoshi, who simply stared at his family with an unreadable expression. "He did have your niece and Sakura-obaachan is pregnant isn't she?"

"Not everyone is like Sakura, my brother's first girlfriend was definitely not like her or so Ichiru would say when he told their father that Sakura still agreed to marry him even knowing what he did," Satoshi said distantly but Tsuna did not miss the way he said the word father with resentment or how he distant himself from his siblings. "Ichiru doesn't like Sakura or how my brother gave up on his first girlfriend."

"And you?"

"I was barely seven when Kenji announced his engagement," he shrugged his shoulder, "I never even met his ex-girlfriend though I wonder what kind of woman she would have been to make the _all mighty_ Ichiru angry with Kenji." He said his brother name with spite and Tsuna had to wonder why his teammate hated his family so much.

"You really don't get along with your family do you?"

His teammate narrowed his eyes. "Family is family, you can't chose your family even if you wish it."

"How about your mother?" Satoshi froze at his question. "What's she like?"

"She was a very nice woman," His mother said, appearing out of nowhere with a wide smile, "Satoshi right? My name is..."

"Uzumaki Naruto, I know," His teammate said gruffly, glaring at his mother, who didn't look one bit fazed that his teammate was glaring at him. "Sakura talks about you so does my brother."

"Which one? And if it's Ichiru nothing what he says is true! I was a perfect little angel, ate all my vegetables and never did any blackmail on anyone!"

"You know his brothers?"

His mother grinned. "Sure I do, I stayed with his family for a while before I got my own place..."

"Kenji," Satoshi said curtly, stopping his mother from saying anything else. "And how do you know my mother?"

His mother smiled. "I did a mission with her once. You look exactly like her, the only thing you inherited from your father is his green eyes...everything else screams your mother."

"You're not the first person to say that," Satoshi said gruffly but Tsuna couldn't help but smile when he heard the sound of pride in his teammate. His teammate gazed at his mother then to him before glancing at Haruto, who had an annoyed look on his face as he tried to explain the plot of the story to Jun, before finally gazing back at his mother. "Where's your _stepfather_?"

"He's my father," Tsuna said, narrowing his eyes while his mother shook her head, not looking one bit annoyed that his teammate looked as if asking about his stepfather made him want to puke. He never did understood how his mother could stand it, how she could stand people talking about his father or the whispers they made about him.

"He's not the man who helped make you was he?" His teammate gazed at his mother, who simply smiled wider at him but Tsuna knew from experience that his mother was holding herself back from yelling at him. "And where's shaggyhead? I thought she would be the first here, seeing how close she is to you."

Tsuna shrugged his shoulder before clenching his hands into a fist. How dare his teammate remind him that Sasuke wasn't his biological father? He was his father even if he didn't make him with his mother. He was the one who taught him to fight, the one who gave him advice on how to deal with fangirls and the only man that had ever scolded him for doing anything wrong. Uncle Lee would never scold him, saying it was his youth that made him do these things while Uncle Kiba would laugh and give him a high-five for doing those things. Uncle Shikamaru would just shrug his shoulder and just say how troublesome he was. It was only his father who do those things for him.

Yet Tsuna could not help but wonder who his biological father was, the man who was able to capture his mother's heart for a brief moment of time and made her see another option then his stepfather. Everyone always thought his mother would only ever see his stepfather or so Uncle Kiba would say whenever his mother wanted someone to babysit him whenever he was younger. He must have been something for her to look at someone other than his stepfather, his uncle would say whenever he asked him about the kind of man his biological father was.

He never once asked his mother about his biological father, not out of fear but out of the fact he knew if he asked about him then his mother was going to break down.

He never wanted his mother to break down.

* * *

Sicily, Sasuke thought as he walked pass a couple making out, was not a city he ever wanted to go ever again. With its hot weather, the way the girls eyed him and the fact he couldn't find a decent place to eat food, he could not ever see how a Japanese man would like to live here. He could be bias because of the fact Naru's ex-boyfriend was from here. The same man who told him if he wanted his wife, he should try to get her and not allow another man to steal her. If it wasn't for the fact he knew they were going to leave, Sasuke was certain he would have burned that man alive for daring to say he didn't have any courage to keep Naru by his side.

Okay maybe he didn't at the time but after the war, after everything that happened between them, Sasuke didn't believe he deserved to have the blond by his side. He still doesn't believe the life they had was something he deserved but he loved their life, loved the children they had and how things were between them. The only regret he had was leaving Naru to get his revenge, for doing the things he did and making her suffer for his actions.

Though he had a lifetime to repent for his actions towards her.

He stopped walking when he reached a large villa overlooking the sea. It was beautiful with its simple white walls and red tiles and statues in front of the gates, not the kind of place Sasuke would have imagined that boy's grandfather to live in but not everything was what it appeared. The boy's grandfather must still be an important figure in the mafia, Sasuke thought wearily, noticing that there was a black limo standing in front of the gates. He eyed the security guards, who were too busy talking to each other and then to the gates, wondering how good his odds were of not tripping the alarm of alerting the guards that someone infiltrated their employers home.

Looking at the guards, he supposed it wasn't going to take much for him to get in there. Nodding his head, Sasuke made his way towards the edge of the gate, leaped over it, landed gracefully on his feet before making his way towards the doors. He turned his head, staring at the guards that were still talking, shook his head before opening the doors.

 _Bastard, you'll never know when you need a bobby pin! It's a lifesaver when you need to break into a house without actually breaking the lock!_ Those were Naru's words when he questioned her about why she was using a bobby pin to break into a house. Those were the days before they came back to Konoha, the days when Naru tried to make him act ridiculous like she did and the good times before they had kids. Not that he would tell his kids to do this though he had no doubt Ryo knew how to do this, that boy knew more then he should when it comes to breaking rules.

He stopped his musings when he heard the sound of someone walking through the corridors. Stepping into the shadows of one of the statues, Sasuke watched as an old man (no doubt Naru's great uncle) walking with a blond-haired man with sad eyes.

"It has been nearly ten years since your wife lost your son and till now you found no sign of your son," The old man said gravely as he stared sadly at the blond-haired man, "Maybe it's time for you to give up searching for him. If you cannot find him in these past ten years then you'll never find him just like my brother never found his son."

"My cousin ran away from home! My son was kidnapped! There's a difference, Father!" The man snapped, making Sasuke curled his lips when he realized that this man was most likely Tsuna's father. He could not see any similarities between them, Sasuke thought, perhaps the eyes but everything else about his son must screamed his mother. "And I'm going to find him! I'm going to find my little Tuna fish."

 _If Tsuna complained about Naru and me calling him little lion then he'll definitely will complain a lot more about Tuna fish,_ Sasuke thought, remembering how his oldest son would whine about how he wasn't a small lion.

"Iemitsu don't talk to me like that! Your mother and I taught you better then that! Now listen to me Iemitsu, it had been nearly fourty years since your cousin ran away from home," The old man spoke, placing his hands into his pockets. "Nearly forty years since he left and your uncle never found him and died never knowing where his son was. He died without knowing if your cousin got married and had kids of his own, never got to know anything about him and he had the same thoughts as you and you know what happened to him?"

"He wasn't very close to my other cousins," Iemitsu stated, "And didn't even mourn their deaths like the way my aunt did but I'm different from him! I know who took him!"

"Really? What's her name? What does she look like? Do you know her nationality? Did you even ask Timoteo if he knew anyone who could track her down?"

"I can't ask the Nono about this! If he gets involved then people in the Mafia would target my son if they did find him!"

"It concerns him as well especially now that all three of his sons are dead," The old man rubbed his temple and stared at the statue that he was currently hiding in. "There're two heirs for the Vongola Family and don't even bother saying Xanxus because that cousin of mine should know I'm no idiot! Tsunayoshi is the eldest of your two kids and is the one who is to inherit the position of the boss!"

"I'm not making him the boss!"

"Oh, why not?"

"Because Nana deserve to have one of her sons near her!"

"That's why she has Daichi-kun isn't it?" The blond-haired man narrowed his eyes at him, earning a laugh. "If that wife of yours could pretend for three straight years that Tsuna didn't exist then it's clear to everyone which child she prefers to have by her side."

"It was a mistake...it's only because you sealed her flames."

"Do not give that woman an excuse!" The old man snarled. "I may have sealed her flames but sealing a flame would not be a cause for someone to do what she did! Your mother warned you! I warned you! But no you took a year worth relationship and made it into a marriage! Did you even tell that wife of yours what you did for a living?"

"No! I'm not getting her involved with this!"

"The moment you married her was the moment she got involved in this. Why do you think most people in our business chose to marry people who know about this? By marrying her, you painted a target in her back," The old man rubbed his forehead, "One day son, this is going to bite you in the ass and I'll be the one to tell you so."

The blond-haired man stared at the old man for a good long time before finally saying. "I'm sorry for being a disappointment and marrying a woman you disapproved but I love her! She's the mother of your grandchildren!" The old man pursed his lips at him. "Anyways, if your informants tell you..."

"If they tell me where Tsuna is, I'll tell you where he is."

Sasuke watched as the blond-haired man left before gazing at the old man, who stared sadly at the man's back. What would Naru do in this situation? He asked himself, watching the older man's fading back. Would she go to the man and explained her actions? Or would she just let him go before going to the old man? She probably would chase after the man and explained her reasons before letting Tsuna go and meet him. She was selfless like that but he was selfish and he wasn't going to let his son meet this man.

Still Naru would kill him if he did that.

Shaking his head, Sasuke waited till the blond-haired man left before stepping out of the shadows.

 _"_ Sawada Ietsuna?" The old man blinked his eyes, opened his mouth to scream but Sasuke quickly covered the old man's mouth and slowly forced him to walk towards one of the empty rooms. Sasuke kicked opened the door, shoved the old man inside before locking the door, where the old man glared at him. He should feel guilty for doing it to an old man, especially to the old man that was related to his deceased father-in-law but it wasn't like anyone was going to kill him for this.

Naru would but she would never know what he did.

"Who the hell are you!"

"Uchiha Sasuke!" He said curtly, curling his lips into a smirk when the man pulled out his cell phone into his pockets. "And if you call security, I'll kill them all."

"You seem pretty confident you can kill them all," The old man stated, flipping the phone open. "Tell me why shouldn't I call them? For all you know I don't care about their lives, the moment they work for me is the moment their lives become mine. Why should I not call them?"

"Sawada Minato."

"What?"

"I know about him."

"You know where my nephew is."

"Maybe I do, maybe I don't but you won't know if you call security."

"And how do you know him?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"You're not going to tell me anything until I put the phone down aren't you?" Sasuke nodded his head, making the old man sighed. "You're lucky young man that I wish to know where my nephew is or else I would call security on you...not that they would do any good since they didn't even notice you were inside! Where were the days I could get good security guards?"

He snorted, causing the old man to sigh. "Tell me how do you know my nephew? Is he doing fine! Why hasn't he called us in the past forty years? That boy isn't the kind of man not to call his family after so many years."

"He's dead."

"And how did he die?" Sasuke didn't answer, causing the man to become irritated. "How did my nephew die? And how many years has he been dead! Why didn't anyone tell us this? I know the boy was desperate to leave home but surely he had a thought of someone to tell his father! That boy was never thoughtless to do this!"

"He's been dead for nearly thirty years now," The old man stopped in his rant and looked at him in shock. "He died protecting his newborn daughter and didn't want his daughter to grow up in the world you lived in."

"And how do you know this?"

"I'm married to his daughter," The old man flickered his eyes to his ring finger and raised his eyebrows. Reluctantly, Sasuke pulled out a recent picture Tsuna helped him take of his wife sleeping with the twins on either side of her laps and Haruto in front. Surprisingly, Tsuna didn't want to be in my the photo but maybe the boy knew that this was going to be useful for him, it wouldn't surprise him if he did. The old man shook his head in acceptance. "But that isn't the reason why I came here."

"Oh? I feel obligated to get to know my great-niece's husband," The old man stared at him then to his sword before nodding his head and grabbing the photo from his hand, "Good to see my great-niece picked a husband that's strong and pretty. It must be tough for her to deal with all the girls looking at you then again she must be a pretty woman after all the woman in our family were known to be quite the looker."

He wanted to growl at the man but stopped himself from doing it. "I'm here to talk about your nephew, you're the only person that seems to know him well," the old man raised his eyebrows at him. "You're the only person that can tell me why would he just run away from home, why he wouldn't let anyone know that his daughter had a family that was willing to raise her."

"Surely her mother..."

"She lost her mother the same day she lost her father," The old man took in deep breaths at hearing this confession, "Until seven years ago, my wife didn't even know that her father's last name was fake."

"I did tell my brother there was a chance he would change his name," The old man muttered, earning a scowl from him. The old man rolled his eyes at him and gestured for him to take a seat in front of him. Sasuke raised his eyebrows, making the old man shrugged his shoulders at him before nodding his head at him. "So my nephew changed his name, moved to a different place and build a new life for himself. Tell me why am I only learning this now? We've contacts in every place in the world! For goodness sake, my own son put some people in the North Pole so he could send a picture to his wife about his fake job."

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, causing the old man to scowl. "Tell me that my great-niece isn't as stupid as my son?" He asked, rubbing his temple. "Sometimes I wonder how Iemitsu survived in the world we lived in...it wasn't his duty to..."

"It was Minato's duty right?"

The old man sighed and gazed at the photo in his hands wistfully. "Yes it was his duty, from the moment he was born my father made sure that he was trained to be a part of CEDEF? And for what? Because of some stupid bet he made with Timoteo's mother. Y'know he was barely older than your oldest son before he left home? Barely five years old when he left home. My brother says he was kidnapped, same goes for his wife? Y'know what I say? That's bullshit and everyone in the Mafia knows that."

Sasuke didn't say anything, just stared at the old man who made his way towards the fridge and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He poured two glasses, giving one to him before drinking the other glass. "He may have been five but he was a smart five year old," Ietsuna took in a deep breath, "Until Iemitsu was born, my wife and I didn't have any other kids but if we did have one before my son, it was Minato. My brother wasn't around a lot, too busy with work while my sister-in-law was too busy running her own company to pay much attention to Minato. I knew that boy wasn't going to stay for much longer, knew sooner or later he was going to leave."

"You did?"

"The boy always loved a sense of adventure," Ietsuna laughed, "He always wanted to be one of those characters in the books he loved. He wanted to be the hero and for him to know that he was going to be a part of this world killed him. Tell me what did Minato do for a living?"

Sasuke gazed darkly at the old man, wondering whether or not to tell him the truth before deciding that it wasn't going to hurt anyone if he knew. "He was a shinobi, one of the best shinobis that our village created!" He felt like he was repeating the words the Academy used to force kids to say, "He was the first and only foreginer to become the Hokage."

"Shinobi? They still exist do they? And Hokage? Really now!" Sasuke scowled when the old man started to laugh, causing the old man to laugh even harder. "Why are you giving me such looks? The last time I checked shinobis didn't exist until you came along, I've never heard someone claiming to become a ninja! Though looking at you, I'm not surprised. That boy surprises me! Tell me what is his daughter like? I can see she's very pretty and by the looks of it, I can see that you love her very much."

"She can be an idiot," Ietsuna blinked his eyes, "She loves eating ramen to the point that I think if none of the kids would complain, she would eat it every day. She doesn't like to admit that she's wrong and likes to swear but ever since our oldest son, she has learnt to control it," The old man smiled softly and Sasuke didn't know why he couldn't stop talking to him, "She accepts everyone who she meets and can't hate anyone. She's overprotective over our kids and is so stubborn over her ways. She's so childish at times that you've to wonder if she ever actually grew up. She hates seeing abused children and will never turn a friend down even if it means she can't be there for the kids."

"She sounds like one hell of a woman," he said softly, staring down at the picture. "Your two oldest have your looks but your youngest son...he looks almost exactly like Minato and my grandson," Ietsuna traced Haruto's face, "Tell me what are their names? And my great-niece names?"

"The boy with the black hair is Ryo, the girl is Mio and our youngest is Haruto," He answered in a heartbeat, "And my wife name is Naru."

"Naru...Sawada Naru," The old man chuckled. "I bet if Minato was alive, he would have murdered you for dating his precious daughter."

He grunted and winced as he remembered how the Fourth Hokage jumped to conclusion about his relationship with Naru at the time. "Haruto, Mio and Ryo," he gazed at them and then to him, "You won't mind if I send this to my sister-in-law would you? It had been so long since Minato left but I think she would be happy to know that she has great-grandchildren."

"It's no problem," He knew that it was something Naru would have wanted and knew one day when everything was settled that his wife would want to come back to this world. "But Minato isn't the only reason why I'm here."

"Oh?"

"Did you know anyone by the name of Giotto?"

From the looks on the old man's face, Sasuke knew he hit the jackpot.

 **Q &A**

 **Q: Will Tsuna learn any of Minato's jutsu?**

A: Yes he will learn some of them especially during the Namimori's Arc.

 **Q: Does Naru know any fuinjutsu?**

A: Yes she does and some of it will be taught to Tsuna.

 **Q: Does Naru have the tailed beast sealed inside of her?**

A: Yes she still does.

* * *

A/N: Please review


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N:** I'm sorry for not updating this fic and my other fics as regularly as the beginning but I'm in my final year in school and have a lot of things to worry about. I'm sorry if it irritates you that I sometimes update my fic once a month or once in two months but school is a priority for me now. I hope that everyone can understand this.

* * *

It had been nearly forty years since his nephew ran away from home and now forty years later, when he finally came to accept the fact his nephew was never going to come back, he learnt that his nephew had a family and died for that family. His nephew died, never watching his beautiful daughter grow up or having the joy of holding his own grandchildren in his own arms or even threaten the man his daughter went out with. His nephew had been so young to lose this but what on earth could have happened for his nephew to sacrifice his life for his family?

Did Minato even have enough time to tell someone to tell his daughter about her heritage before he died? Ietsuna doubted the boy, who left the Mafia would want his own child to know about his dirty past but it didn't explain how his great-nephew-in-law knew about Giotto. It didn't explain if the boy had enough time to tell his daughter about her heritage, not allow her to be raised by his mother, who would have been delighted to know about the girl. Then again, his mother didn't become a better mother until Minato left, leaving a gaping hole in their family.

"Who is Giotto?" The man Sasuke asked, leaning against his spot.

Ietsuna sighed, rubbed his forehead and stared at the young man in front of him. "Why do you want to know about him? Did my nephew write anything in his will to tell your wife her heritage?" The young man raised his eyebrow at him, giving him the look that said that his nephew was not stupid enough to do that. "If he did not want his daughter to know then why do you want to know? It does not concern you unless both of my grandsons die or decides to give up their birthright."

"My wife won't inherit would she? Nor any of our children?"

Ietsuna didn't miss the look of relief in the man's face or the worry in his eyes. A good man, he thought to himself, gazing into the man that he could clearly expect to protect his great-niece. "Do you want them to inherit?" The black-haired male narrowed his eyes and shook his head, making him shrug his arms at him. "Then no they'll not inherit,your wife will be a good candidate to be a boss since she is old enough but I've a feeling that like her father, she will not accept it am I right?"

"Yes."

"And you don't want any of your children to have this responsibility," Sasuke nodded his head, making Ietsuna sigh. "I don't blame you. If they inherit this responsibility, they'll not be able to have any dream they want nor would they be able to live a normal life...especially considering the tutor my cousin wish to hire."

"What does Giotto have to do with this responsibility?"

Ah yes, Ietsuna forgot that there was a possibility that the man didn't know anything about his wife's father family but it had been so easy to forget, considering how the man appeared and acted like he knew what was going on. "Do you know about the mafia?" The man cringed but nodded his head, making him wonder what on earth did his great-nephew do for him to look so guilty. "Do you know about the Vongola Family?"

"I heard of them."

"Do you know they're the strongest family in the Mafia?"

"Yes."

Ietsuna nodded, gazed at the photo of his great-niece, who looked so much like her father that it hurt him to know his beloved nephew was never coming back to give him an interesting debate about how things should be ran. "Do you know who founded the Vongola Family?" The young man shook his head. "If the Giotto you're talking about is the same Giotto I'm thinking about then Giotto is the founder of the Vongola Family. He's your wife's great-great-great-grandfather."

"Did Giotto ever meet a kunoichi?"

He blinked his eyes at the man's sudden question and racked through his brain to find out if his grandfather ever talked about his great-grandfather meeting a ninja. Yes, there was that one time but he thought his grandfather was making it up. "Yes, he did meet a kunoichi but only after he lost his wife," he ran his hand through his gray hair as he remembered the story, "My grandfather told me she was a very pretty woman, long black hair and eyes that looked like obsidian. She was younger than him by a good couple of years but he had somehow met her in a forest."

"And?"

"She was injured," he could almost hear his grandfather telling him the story, "And he couldn't leave her by herself without any aid so he took her in his house and helped heal her. She stayed with them for a good couple of months, long enough for the two to fall in love and for her to leave him with a broken heart. I think her last name was like yours, no it is the same last name. Her name was Uchiha Natsuko."

So that name was familiar to him, Ietsuna thought, noticing how the young man had blinked his eyes at hearing this news. "My grandfather told me that she was barely older than him by a couple of years but somehow he fell in love with her," he shook his head, "I don't know if she ever fell for him or if she did then her reasons for leaving him the way she did. It broke his heart to know she left without a word."

"How old was she when she came?"

"Probably around twenty," He nodded his head, "I don't know but I heard from my grandfather that she was young and beautiful."

The young man looked uncomfortable, which only made Ietsuna laugh at the young male. It was obvious to him that the man didn't like talking about emotions, especially ones to deal with other people emotions but the man brought it up. Still, Ietusna had to wonder why did this young man wanted to know if his great-grandfather met a kunoichi? Why was it any of his business? The woman was gone now, she probably died surrounded by her many grandchildren.

"Uchiha Natsuko was my great-grandmother," Ietsuna blinked his eyes and raised his eyebrow at him, "You wanted to know why I asked the question and I'm answering Iit. When your nephew came to my village, he was found by my father who took him to my parent's home. My great-grandmother insisted that he was taken care and they would always talk about him in some weird language."

"Italian is not a weird language!" The young man snorted, which just made Ietsuna want to throttle the young man for insulting his mother's tongue. "And if she knew about my nephew being related to her ex-lover then why did she not bring him back?"

"I wasn't even born when it happened," Sasuke pointed out as he rubbed his temple, "And my great-grandmother is dead so I don't know why."

Ietsuna rubbed his temple at this. The more he hear what the man had to say, the more he wanted to know about the things his nephew did. God, why couldn't his nephew have a normal dream? He could have been a doctor or even a soldier! Why ninja! And how was his nephew able to meet his great-grandfather's ex-lover? His great-grandfather couldn't find her nor his grandfather so how on earth did that boy meet him? There must be an explanation for this.

"Did anyone mention how Minato come to your village?"

"No one knows how he got there," Sasuke said but Ietsuna knew from his intuition that the male was lying about how no one knew how his nephew got there.

"Tell me the truth boy, does anyone know how my nephew entered your village?"

The man stilted his eyes at him. "No."

"You know there's a talent that us Sawadas have," Ietsuna informed the man, grabbing a glass of alcohol from the table. "And that is, we know when someone is lying to us. I'm sure your wife have the same talent since she is my great-niece. Now tell me, do you know anyone who knows how my young nephew entered the village?"

"I don't know anyone," he narrowed his eyes at the male but the man continued on, "but I have an idea on who knows, one of them is dead and the others won't talk."

"Why not?"

"To protect Naru and to protect our children."

"I see," Ietsuna muttered, gazing intently at the man. "You don't seem like the type to respect people's wishes so why don't you try to persuade them like you're doing right now."

The man flushed light red but didn't bother to explain himself to him. So the man did not think of doing that but not everyone could make a million of ideas in one minute, Ietsuna thought, quirking his lips into a smile before shaking his head at the man. Maybe it was time to get rid of the man's embarrassment and turned to a happier topic. God knew he wanted to have something happy to think about with all the bad news surrounding his life.

"So how old are your twins?" He gazed at the picture and felt his heart throbbed as he wonder if his own grandsons would be as adorable as those two were. Probably not, Ietsuna thought, frowning as he remembered how his daughter-in-law didn't seem to notice Tsuna. It was odd though when he considered the fact when those two were born, Tsuna had been the one with the stronger flames and even sealed flames went to the stronger flame and not the weaker one. He sighed. Perhaps, he need to have some people look it up because things weren't adding up for him.

"They're six," The young man didn't show his emotions when he said it but Ietsuna could hear the proudness in the man's voice. "Haruto is four but he doesn't act like a four year old, the boy acts older then he should just like my oldest son and brother."

Ietsuna curled his lips and looked down at the photo, gazing at the black-haired boy who had a big smile on his face and then to the sleeping girl, who held a serene smile that was the same as her mother and grandfather. "Your oldest son doesn't seem like he's older then he should be," he missed the panic look from the man but he did notice that the man didn't seem to be annoyed about what he said, "If anything I would think the girl is but then again I'm saying this since her smile is just like her grandfather."

"Mio is quite wise when she wants to be," Sasuke said, "She also likes to tease her brothers and keeps asking Naru and me for another sibling...she hates being the only girl in the family."

"Is there another little one in the way?"

Sasuke flushed. "N-No. F-Three kids are enough."

He didn't miss the fact that the man had nearly said four but Ietsuna didn't question him. Perhaps, he wanted four but his niece didn't want four kids. Ietsuna would not blame her for it. Women went through a lot of pain to give birth, it was a pain that Ietsuna was glad he was never going to experience. God he fainted when his own wife was starting to give birth to Iemitsu, he would have died if he had to go through her pain.

"So no little one on the way? That's a pity," He laughed when he saw the man's expression, "Why are you so shock? Do you not like the sound of your own kid's feet? You'll miss it when they grow up, god knew I did when my son decided to move out and even more so when he got married."

"Your son?"

"His name is Sawada Iemitsu," he pulled out the most recent picture of his son with his wife and kid, "This is him with his wife and son," he felt his lips curled into a frown, "He has two sons but...well the oldest ran away from home, my son would argue otherwise but it's history repeating itself again."

"What happened?" Sasuke asked, giving him a funny look.

Ietsuna rubbed his forehead. "His wife was in the playground with their kids when it happened. She said she was playing with Daichi since the boy was demanding for her to play with him so she did. Eventually she decided it was time for them to go so they left...only without Tsuna. She forgot about her son. Tsuna is the oldest of their two kids and the smartest as far as I can tell from looking at the photos of him."

"And they don't know where he went?"

"My son claimed some woman took him since he was able to get the video of what happened," Sasuke's body stilled at hearing this, "He told me what she looked like and he had been searching for the boy non-stop for nearly seven years but nothing came up."

"Are you helping him?"

"Of course, I want to see my grandson before I die," Ietsuna took in a deep breath. "And he's the heir to the Vongola family if your wife doesn't want the job. No way am I allowing my son give it to Daichi, the boy is a good boy but he's not meant for this life."

"And you think Tsuna is?" Ietsuna didn't miss the look of anger in the man's eyes and if he were a weaker man, he would cower in fear but he had seen many things in his long life that were scarier than the man in front of him. "What makes you think the grandson you never saw is better than the grandson in your gasp?"

"My oldest son tells me that Daichi is charming and sweet, his little Dai-kun and I love the boy but I know potential when I see it," He closed his eyes as he remembered his father, who would have been just as good as Nono in his job, only to be the son of his grandfather and not the son of the leader of the Vongola family. "He does not have the potential to continue on what my cousin want nor does he know the real meaning of being a leader. He never will and despite what my son and cousin thinks, a tutor is not a miracle worker even if he's the best."

"Tutor?"

"I won't tell you about it, now tell me more about my beautiful great-niece and your children!"

So Sasuke did that but Ietsuna didn't question him about his hesitant looks because he knew from experience that whatever the man's hiding from him was going to come out sooner or later.

His son didn't have patience but Ietsuna knew the key to finding out the truth was patience and he knew it would be his patience that would allow him to find out where his grandson was.

* * *

"The day has barely started and the three of you looked exhausted," His uncle said when they came to the training ground for their first ever meeting since he decided they passed. Tsuna laughed when Mirai and Satoshi glared at their sensei for making them come to the training ground at six o'clock in the morning instead of a normal time like ten. "You're barely twelve and all of you are so sleepy, I wonder how the three of you are going to survive in the future."

"You can't talk Shikamaru-niisan!" Mirai snapped, crossing her arms. "Ino-neechan says that you were impossible to work with because of how lazy you used to be. You napped all the time!"

"And you like sleeping in too much," His uncle shook his head, "But if you really want to complain then I guess you can go back home without doing your first ever mission but that's up to you..."

Tsuna tilted his head at their sensei, Satoshi just gazed at their sensei with interest while Mirai, who to Tsuna's horror and surprise, squealed at their sensei's words. The world must be ending, he thought to himself as he took a step closer to Satoshi because Mirai never squealed! She was the only girl he could trust not to squeal. His uncle must have thought the same thing because he looked almost horrified at what he just heard, which caused Mirai flush red in embarrassment.

"Why are you guys looking at me like that! Now I am not allowed to get excited on the fact we have a mission?" She snapped.

Tsuna rubbed the back of his neck. "No, Mirai-chan there's nothing wrong about being excited but you squealed."

"So?"

"You squealed," Satoshi scowled. "You squealed just like those fangirls who used to chase after Uzumaki and me."

Mirai blinked and blinked her eyes before shaking her head. "I didn't squeal like a fangirl! I just made a sound that makes it seem like I did. Never ever compare me to those terrible creatures."

"Boys, first lesson: don't argue with a troublesome female," Their sensei said, shaking his head. "You'll never win against them."

Mirai smiled triumphantly at him but her smile was wiped away when she realized what their sensei had just said. "I'm not troublesome," she cried, "I thought you said I was the least troublesome girl you met. Did you lie to me?"

Their sensei sighed. "Compare to my wife, Naru and Ino, you're not troublesome."

"The whole time you've been comparing me to all the woman who boss you around!"

 _I don't blame him,_ Tsuna thought, remembering how each one of those woman that his sensei mentioned had found some way to make him obey them without a single complaint. His aunt Ino teased him about his non-existent love life and only ever stop teasing him whenever he did a favour for her. Aunt Temari just gave him a look that just made him want to be on her good side because he knew being in her bad side would spell trouble for him. His mother was the worst out of them all. She would just give him that disappointed look or just tell him embarrassing stories about his childhood to make him do what she wants.

His mother knew she didn't need to do any of that to make him obey her.

"So what's the mission?" Tsuna asked before Mirai could go on a rant about how she didn't boss their sensei around.

Shikamaru shrugged his shoulder. "Well we'll have to go to the Hokage's tower and pick a mission for you guys to do?"

"Can we do a mission where we save the son of a Daimyo?" Mirai asked eagerly.

"Do you think the Hokage would give it to us?" Satoshi asked, rolling his eyes at the girl. "We're barely out of the Academy! The old lady won't ever give us that mission."

"Don't call my mother an old lady!"

"Your mum is nearly thirty and she look like she's in her early twenties which is not normal at all," Satoshi stated. "And she's old when compared to the three of us."

"Don't let Naru hear that," Their sensei said, pinching his nose. "She'll make you regret that. Naru doesn't want to admit it but she's just as bad as Tsunade-sama when it comes to someone pointing out her age."

"Naru-obachan is young! She's barely thirty," Mirai narrowed her eyes, "And you never call a woman old unless you want to die, only an idiot will call a woman old especially a strong woman like Naru-obachan or Tsunade-sama."

Shikamaru-sensei looked amused at Mirai's words as if he knew something they didn't know and maybe he did know something because Tsuna didn't know everything about his mother. Shikamaru must know something for him to be amused at what his best friend had just said. He frowned and raised his eyebrow at his sensei, who just gave him a smirk but didn't elaborate why he was smirking at them.

"Now that the three of you have finished discussing about what not to say to a woman, let's start to make our way towards the tower," Tsuna didn't like the look on his sensei's face especially not when his instincts were telling him that this was going to be one of those days where his uncle was feeling particularly mean to them, "You don't want to miss the good missions do you now?"

Mirai shook her head at their teacher, grabbed his arm along with Satoshi and started to make a dash towards the tower, not once caring that Satoshi was yelling at her to let go of his arm. Tsuna wondered if his mother really had a good idea of putting him and Satoshi with Mirai because as much as he liked his best friend, she was being too eager for a mission! For all they knew, their sensei could be making them have a mission to do with bandits instead of the Daimyo or worse, like escorting some middle age drunk man back home.

His friend dropped his arms when they stood in front of the looming tower. Satoshi glanced at the tower then to Mirai before looking at the path they traveled. "For someone so little, you were able to drag us from one end to the village to the other," he narrowed his eyebrows at Mirai, "Are you sure you're human? A small person like ya shouldn't be able to run that fast or grab us that fast."

"That's the power of dango."

"No, it's the power of your eagerness," Tsuna pointed out, earning a laugh from the girl, "Anyways shouldn't we just wait for sensei to come? You did left him stranded like that as soon as he said mission."

"He's coming," Mirai waved her hand at him, "Shikamaru-niisan won't make us wait too long."

Tsuna opened his mouth to disagree with her but closed his mouth when he caught sight of his little brother standing in front of the gates with a book in his hands. Haruto was already this early coming to their mum's office? He grimaced and walked towards his little brother, leaving Mirai confused at where he was going. He tapped his brother's shoulder and smiled widely when he caught sight of his brother looking up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Aniki, why are you here? Aren't you suppose to be with Shikamaru-ojiisan?" Haruto flickered his eyes at his teammates and then to him. "Is that normal?"

"No, Mirai-chan got excited when Shikamaru-sensei said the word 'mission'."

Haruto stared at Mirai, who smiled widely at him, and then to Satoshi before looking back at him. "She does realize Mama won't give a mission until your sensei is with you right? And why didn't you stop her?"

"Why don't you stop Jun from taking your books?"

"She's scary."

Barely four years old and his brother was terrified of Aunt Sakura's daughter, which just told Tsuna so much about what their relationship was going to be like in the next couple of years. He glanced at Mirai, who smiled at him before making her way towards his little brother, who blinked his eyes at her. He still remembered the first time he met her even though it had been nearly nine years since the two of them met.

His mother had dragged him to Aunt Kurenai's house, saying with a bright smile about something about how he was going to make a new friend. He remembered clinging to his mother as they walked closer to the apartment. His mother had given him a small smile, swoop him into her arms and told him that he was her brave little boy and that his new friend wasn't scary. He could still remember how when his mum rang the bell, it wasn't Kurenai who opened the door but a smiling Mirai, who dragged him into the house.

That first meeting summed up their whole relationship and Mirai in one word.

"So Haruto-kun, why are you here and not at home."

"I always come with Mama to her workplace whenever Papa can't be here to watch me," Haruto said this as he stared at Satoshi, who gazed right back at him, "Mama doesn't seem to think I'm old enough to be in the house. I'm not like Ryo, I'm not going to cause any trouble."

"You know Mama worries if she doesn't know someone is keeping an eye on the three of you," Tsuna narrowed his eyes, "So why aren't you in the office with Mama?"

His little brother grimaced. "Because everyone in the office, except Mama, treats me like I'm a baby! I'm not one! I don't want to color in some stupid animal!"

"Then why don't you read a book?"

"I finish them all," Haruto crossed his arms, "And I love the Tales of the Gutsy Ninja but I read it a thousand times."

Tsuna rubbed his forehead and glanced at his teammates. Mirai smiled apologetically at him while Satoshi shook his head, looking just as lost as him about what to do with his little brother. An idea came to his mind but Tsuna didn't know if his mother would be happy to know what he planned to do. "Then how about this? If you go into the office then I'll teach you a super cool jutsu that not even Mama or Papa knows how to use."

"How could you know how to do it and Mama and Papa doesn't know how to do it?" Haruto asked, tilting his head. "And will you teach it to Ryo and Mio too? It won't be fair if I learned it before them and then we'll have to deal with Ryo's whining, and I don't want that. It's so troublesome."

"You sure that Haruto isn't Shikamaru-sensei/nii-san's son?" His teammates asked, gazing at Haruto then to him before looking back at the confused boy.

His youngest brother furrowed his eyebrows. "Why do they think I'm not Papa's son?"

Tsuna rubbed his forehead, gave Mirai and Satoshi a glare but thankfully he didn't need to explain why since his sensei appeared right in front of them. He glanced at his little brother, who looked up at their uncle with confusion before glancing at his teammates, who just flickered their eyes at Haruto then to him as if waiting for explanation on why his brother used the word troublesome. His uncle rolled his eyes, ruffled Haruto's hair and shook his head at them.

"Shikamaru-ojiisan, why do they think that I'm your son? I don't look anything like you."

His uncle sighed. "They were just joking Haruto, you were just saying something I would have said."

"You mean troublesome?" His teacher nodded, making Haruto tilt his head at his teammates. "But I'm telling the truth. Ryo-niisan would complain and it's so annoying."

Shikamaru just smiled at his little brother, glanced at the three of them and gestured for the three of them to make their way towards the mission assignment desk to get their mission before grabbing his youngest brother's arm. His brother frowned at their uncle before shrugging his shoulder and allowed himself to be dragged by their uncle without any complaint.

Shaking his head, Tsuna followed behind his sensei and teammates. He held his breath when his teacher opened the door, announcing to his mother of their arrival. Was his mother going to be indifferent during this? He hoped so. He didn't want anyone to think that he got to where he was because of his mother or get missions that were too safe because his mother didn't want him to get hurt but knowing his mother, there was a chance that was going to happen.

"Team nine reporting for an assignment, Hokage-sama," His sensei said as his mother shuffled through the scrolls on the desk, "And I brought your troublesome son here. It looks like he was trying to escape from the tower."

His mother furrowed her eyebrows, glancing at him then to his teammates before finally spotting his little brother who was hiding behind Mirai-chan. She shook her head, placed the scrolls down before walking towards his brother. He smiled widely as his mother scooped his brother from Mirai, rolling her eyes at Haruto, who insisted that he was too old to be carried but it was obvious to everyone in the room that his brother enjoyed being carried by their mum.

Placing his little brother in her seat, his mother placed her hands on her hips and gave them a big smile that made him think he wasn't going to like what his mother was about to say. "So you decided to make them do missions first, Shikamaru?" Tsuna gulped when he saw the twinkle in her eyes. "You think those three are ready for a hard one?"

"We're so ready." Mirai declared.

His mother smiled even wider and glanced at Haruto, who was looking at their mother in confusion. Tsuna frowned. Why was Haruto confuse? Wasn't it normal for Mum to act like this when she gave missions? He felt the corners of his mouth move further down when his little brother gave him a look of sympathy. Now he really wanted to know what was happening! Damn it why couldn't he have been born around the time his mother started her job or even slightly before then? It seemed like Haruto knew more then he did and his brother wasn't even in the Academy.

"It's good thing you guys are early then because we got a wide range of D-rank missions for you to pick," His mother smiled but Tsuna knew from the look in her eyes that she was trying her hardest not to say anything about how it was his first mission. Honestly if they were home, Tsuna knew she would be crying about how grown up he is. Shaking her head, his mother pulled out a bunch of scrolls that were labeled D-rank. "You could either clean Konohamaru's house, take a couple of the Inuzaka's dogs out for a walk, take care of Sakura-chan's daughter or my son," Haruto scowled at their mother but she gave the look that said either he did what she said or no more books, "Or capture Tora."

"That's chores!" Surprisingly, it was Satoshi who spoke out and not Mirai this time. "I didn't become a ninja to do chores."

His mother shrugged her shoulder. "You think that all ninjas immediately start spying kid? We all start from somewhere. You're genins, a newbie to this field and you think you're ready for this? Every genin team when they first start out do these missions, just ask Shikamaru or Kurenai. None of us were sent immediately to the field."

"But it's useless," Mirai cried.

"It depends on how you look at it," his mother pointed out, gazing at the picture of her old team, "Now you might think it's useless and boring but when you get older, you'll look back at these missions and think how it really wasn't useless."

Tsuna glanced at his sensei, who was just staring at his mother as if she lost it before muttering about how she was a hypocrite. Was there something he didn't know? He wondered, gazing at his mother who gave them all a warm smile. Maybe he should ask Aunt Sakura when he see her because other than his father, Aunt Sakura was the only person who ever really worked with his mother as a team.

"We'll capture Tora," His sensei finally said, snapping him from his train of thought. "And Hokage-sama, don't go preaching without remembering your own genin days."

His mother smiled even wider. "I'll have y'know that I was a good genin and never ever complained about anything," Shikamaru snorted and rolled his eyes, "It's true! You can ask Sakura-chan if you don't believe me."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," His sensei said, shaking his head.

She pouted at his sensei, shook her head and gave his team looks of sympathy before saying, "I wish you all good luck with this mission...just one warning, make sure that you hold that cat as far as you can."

"And don't lose sight of it," His sensei muttered. "Even after all these years that troublesome cat still exists."

His mother laughed before shaking her head. "I hope the three of you can beat the record of the shortest time in finding the cat."

"What was the shortest time?" Tsuna couldn't help but ask.

"Three hours."

Mirai glanced at him and then to Satoshi before declaring, "We're going to beat that time!"

Satoshi groaned and glared at his mother, who just shrugged her shoulders at him. His sensei just shook his head and gave them a look that just said that the three of them needed to go search for the cat or else they would be in trouble. Tsuna nodded his head, glanced at Mirai and Satoshi, who was now having a heavy argument with the girl about the chances of beating that record. His team wasn't bad but he did wish that Satoshi and Mirai didn't argue that much.

To do that, they needed to find the cat fast.

"Hokage-sama, can you tell us what Tora looks like?" He asked, looking away from his mother, who frowned at his formal tone. Tsuna wasn't going to call her his mother in front of his teammates, oh no that would not be professional and he wanted people to take him seriously.

"It's an ugly cat with a huge red ribbon on its ear," His mother informed them, handing him the picture of the cat. Tsuna nodded, glanced down at the cat and grimaced at how angry the cat looked. Mirai just frowned while Satoshi had a strange look in his eyes at the image. "I should tell you that if you don't hurry up, the chances of you guys finding the cat dwindle...and I doubt the four of you want to be searching for the cat till nighttime."

"Night time!"

"Hmm, didn't I tell you? This mission could take hours if your teamwork isn't good enough," His mother smiled widely and Tsuna knew that meant his mother was enjoying torturing them with this information. Why did he have a sadist for a mother? He shook his head and stared at his smiling mother. "So now go! And find that demon, no I mean lovely cat and return her to her owner!"

It was times like these when Tsuna agreed with his father about his mother being an idiot.

* * *

It took them one hour to locate the cat that his brother's friend proclaimed as a demon. Satoshi thought the old lady was mocking them when she told them good luck finding that demon cat but after searching through most of the town even with Uzumaki's shadow clone, they couldn't find the cat until they reached deep into the forest. He glanced at Uzumaki, who stared intensely at the cat, and then to shaggyhead, who licked her lips at the sight of their target. He didn't even bother to look at their sensei, the man already told them that he wasn't going to be of any help in this mission.

"How are we going to catch that cat?" Uzumaki asked as they watched the cat walked further deeper into the forest.

Yuhi rolled her eyes at him. "We grab it of course."

"Don't be so hasty," The black-haired girl frowned at their brown-haired teammate, who gazed intensely at the cat. "From what my mum is hinting, the cat has been around since her genin days...and if it's around during my mother's genin days then..."

"Then there's a chance that it knows all the tricks that genins have used to capture it," Satoshi finished, earning a nod from Tsuna. "If that's the case then I'll just grab it with all of us working in a team, the cat must definitely expect more than one person to capture it."

"No," His teammate shook his head, "I think the cat would also expect that after all her owner would hire as many people as she can to find the cat...who's to say that cat won't expect that. There must be another way."

"Genjutsu?" Their female teammate suggest, rubbing her hands together. "I'll need you guys to distract it so I can do the genjutsu on the cat to make it stay still."

"How long can the genjutsu last?"

Mirai gave an offended look to Tsuna. "Are you saying that I can't make a genjutsu last long? Out of the three of us, I'm the one with the best chakra control."

"Shaggyhead, just answer the damn question before we lose sight of the damn cat! You want to break the record of the shortest time in finding the cat or not!" He snapped.

She glared at him. "Of course I want to break the record! And for your information Tsuna, a simple genjutsu can last long enough for us to take the damn cat to your mum. It isn't like the cat could use chakra or anything."

"So the only thing left is the distraction," Tsuna grimaced and winced, "I got an idea but don't ever let my mother find out about what I suggested ...she's never going to let me live it down."

"What's the idea?"

"You henged into his owner."

"You want me to henge into a woman!"

Satoshi stared at the cat, who finally stopped moving, then to Tsuna before looking at Mirai, who smirked at him as if to say he was coward for not wanting to go in as a woman. He gritted his teeth. "Fine, I will do it since it is the only good idea you have but the cat is trying to run away from its owner," he pointed out to him, "It's not going to run towards my arms, if anything the cat is going to run like the wind away from them."

"I know."

"If you know then why you suggest it?"

"Because I'm going to make a net for us to capture the cat," He finally answered, "When I put the net, Mirai will do the genjutsu for it to stay still and we can finally go back to the training ground."

He scowled at his answer but agreed to his plan. He may not like Uzumaki but he know his teammate was a very smart boy, probably smarter than the other kids in their year. They needed to distract the cat and while Satoshi didn't like the idea of becoming a fake woman, he did want to go back to the tower and collect his money. God knew he needed that money to get a new place to live in.

Still, why did he have to be the woman?

* * *

"Mama, why are we watching Aniki and his teammates complete their mission?" Her youngest son asked as the two of them took a seat on the tallest looking tree of the forest. Naru didn't answer her son immediately, just sat there and watched Tsuna as he made a fine trap using the small resources his teammates had. "Mama, you know Tsuna-niisan would come to the tower as soon as he finish the mission right? You don't need to watch him."

She shook her head and stared at her youngest son, the only son she had that inherited her blond hair and bright blue eyes. He was so young, Naru couldn't help but think as she looked into her four-year-old's son eyes, but already he was telling her things that she already knew but things kids his age wouldn't consider. In some ways, Haruto reminded her of Tsuna when he was that age, only Haruto was just more serious than Tsuna ever was and didn't like clinging to her or Sasuke a lot. He was barely four but her son wanted to grow up so badly.

"I know your brother will come to the tower as soon as he finish but I worry about him kiddo, in the same way I worry about you, Ryo and Mio," she rubbed her stomach and shook her head, "I don't want him to get hurt."

"Mum, he's only doing D-rank missions," Her son scowled, "Aniki and his team should do C-rank missions, they aren't as bad as the other genin. Why are you making him do this?"

"I'm not making him do this," she ruffled her son's soft hair and glanced at Tsuna, "Your Uncle Shikamaru decides on the mission your brother does and he doesn't think your brother is ready just yet for a higher rank mission."

"Why not? He's better than some of the dummies that come to you."

"Haruto, language."

"But it's true! They're dummies even Tou-san agrees with me."

 _To your father, almost everyone is an idiot,_ Naru thought, staring at her young's son. She wondered how her son could think about that like people but then she remembered that Haruto was still a little boy who didn't know the world just yet. He only read stories about the world and Naru couldn't help but wonder if that was good, if she was allowing him to live in a fantasy world and not the reality. One day, she would have to break all four of her kids mentality of the world but not now.

She shook her head and stared at the stern face that belonged to Tsuna as he watched over his teammates and gave them orders on what to do while Shikamaru watched them with a hint of curiosity. Her little boy was growing up, she realized with a bitter pang as she watched Mirai leaned closer to her son to tell him something. She knew he was growing up but watching him like this just made her realized that he was no longer a boy she needed to shield but someone who she needed to see as someone who could protect himself.

It only became more apparent when Satoshi henged into the owner while Tsuna ran straight ahead to make a trap. Was it only five years ago when she started teaching Tsuna the art of traps? Was it really nearly six years ago since she got married? And six years since she had Ryo and Mio? She felt her eyes watered but she held them back, reminding herself that her son was still her little boy, was still the same little boy that made her a mother and the same boy who wanted love.

Maybe, she should just go back home and wait for Tsuna to tell her everything.

She stared into Tsuna's brown eyes and thought about the little boy that so badly wanted to be loved before gulping down the lump that formed. Would he still love her if he knew the truth? Could she even tell him the truth? She should tell him the truth. She licked her lips and stared at her smiling son, who was setting his trap, and then to Satoshi, who was henged into Tora's Owner.

 _"One day, you'll have to tell him the truth Naru. He's not stupid, Tsuna is going to find out the truth."_

Those were Sasuke's words to her before he left for his trip.

He was right, she needed to tell Tsuna the truth and she was going to tell him the truth when the Chunin Exams were over.

She just hoped he would forgive her for lying to him all this time.

* * *

 **Q &A:**

 **Q: Will Reborn be in his adult form or baby form when he meets Tsuna?**

A: He'll be in his baby form, which will be quite entertaining when Tsuna finds out the truth between him and Naru.

 **Q: Did Sasuke knew that Tsuna is Iemitsu's son all along?**

A: Sasuke have suspicions but it was in this chapter that his suspicions were proven right.

 **Q: Will Naru get to meet her distant family as well?**

A: Yes.

 **Q: Did I finally decided on what to do with Tsuna's guardians?**

A: Yes, I decided that they'll still be the same people however he will have extra people in his family.

 **Q: Is Sasuke going to mention Tsuna to his grandfather?**

A: No, he's going to avoid it as you can see in this chapter.

 **Q: Does Sasuke still have his left arm?**

A: Yes

~X~

A/N: Please review.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: I want to thank everyone who reviewed and added this story to their favourites and follows.**

* * *

If there was one person Mirai Yuhi cared the most for, besides her mother, it was her best friend Tsuna. He had been in her life for as long as she could remember; her earliest memories involves playing with him in the sandpit with their mothers watching them. Although in those memories, Tsuna was a shy little boy who always stuttered and looked away from her. That Tsuna in her memories also barely interact with people he didn't know, always clinging to his mother's pants. It was a far cry from the boy he was today, which was a terrible thing if you ask her because that little boy had been so easy to tease.

It was hard to believe Tsuna was ever that boy, Mirai mused as she walked towards Tsuna's house with Satoshi and Tsuna right in front of her. Tsuna was confident now though there were times where her best friend had his doubts on his powers. Whenever that happened, Mirai would slap him for having those doubts because he was the one person in their graduating year who shouldn't doubt himself. His mother was the goddamn hero of the shinobi world! Her best-friend was trained by the two strongest shinobi in the world so how the hell could he doubt himself?

Compared to his younger siblings, Tsuna didn't have the same self-confidence that those three have. Ryo had to be one of the most arrogant little kids she had ever seen while Mio, while nothing like her little brother, had the stubbornness of her two parents or so Ino-neechan would complain to her mother whenever she described how she tried to force the little girl to try on the dress she bought for her. Haruto was the most confident one out of the three siblings Tsuna have, the boy could always do things without hesitance and said things that just made her want to throttle him.

If it weren't for the fact Haruto was Tsuna's little brother, Mirai would throttle the boy for what he said to her earlier.

"I should tell you this before we reach the house, Mio and Ryo might start attacking you with questions about our mission," Tsuna informed them as the three of them reached the house. "Those two have been bugging me, Mum and even Haruto about what we do those missions."

"Why doesn't she just bring them to see her hand the missions?"

"And listen to Ryo complained about how they aren't awesome missions? It would drive her nuts if she brought Ryo with her," Tsuna said, shaking his head. "She can't always rely on Mio to take care of my little brother since that little sister of mine can also be a problem."

"All little kids are brats," Satoshi said, rolling his eyes. "Your little sister is less of a brat than Jun. That little girl can talk your ears out especially when it came to your little brother."

"Which little brother?"

"The youngest one of course," Satoshi scowled. "If she keeps this up, I'm going to have to tell that brother of mine to keep his daughter on a leash. Seriously, why the hell does she keep talking about him a lot in the table? If it weren't for the fact Sakura scares the crap out of me, I'll throw the brat in the streets."

"Haruto is her best-friend," Tsuna pointed out. "It's only normal for her to talk about him a lot, Mio does the same thing whenever she talks about Azumi-chan and Ryo does the same with Shikadai. Didn't you ever talk to your dad about your friends?"

Did the bastard even have friends? Mirai wanted to ask as she remembered how the dark-haired boy would always leave the classroom as soon as the bell rung, never hanging around to talk to everyone. All her female friends, who didn't have a crush on Tsuna, thought Satoshi was mysterious and cute but if you ask Mirai, the guy was an ass. It would be a miracle if he could find a girl who was willing to stand his behaviour.

"Father and I don't talk unless necessary," Satoshi said, causing them to blink his eyes. "I only go to dinner and eat the food prepared for us before going back to my room. There's no point of us talking to each other."

"Then when do you guys talk?" Tsuna asked, frowning.

Satoshi shrugged his shoulders. "Whenever I'm forced too which is whenever Sakura can't stand the silence between Father and me, which is every three weeks but that will change as soon as we earn enough money for me to rent a good apartment."

"Why do you hate your Tou-san so much?" Mirai asked, causing the older boy to raise his eyebrows at her. She crossed her arms and curled her lips at him. "Do y'know I would kill to know my Dad like you do? All I ever get are stories about him...you live with him and yet you hate him so much."

"Your parents were in love weren't they?" Satoshi asked, sneering at her. "And your father wasn't married to anyone or in a relationship with another person when your parents had you, did they? And your mother is alive isn't she?"

"Yes, but what does that have to do with you and your father? Weren't they in love? I mean your Dad couldn't have sex with your mother without having any feelings right?"

He snorted. "Did your mother tell you that sex is when two people have feelings for each other? Didn't the Academy ever tell you kunoichis about the real reason why they have sex?"

"Yes but those are for missions...your mother didn't have a mission to do with your father did she?"

"You think anyone is stupid enough to try to do a hit on the bastard? No, she didn't have a mission but she might as well wish she did," Satoshi said darkly. "Cuz if she did then she would have known to use protection. If she did then she woulda met a nice guy who would have married her and treated her right."

"I thought your mother died giving birth to you," Tsuna asked and Mirai just wanted to blink her eyes at how strange he was acting. Tsuna never said hurtful things like this before, he always avoided hurting people's feelings but why was he saying this so casually? She glanced at Satoshi, who didn't look one bit hurt at what her best friend said. If anything, he looked calm. "How you know if he treated her badly or not? From what you implied, your parents had a one-night stand."

"How do I know? Simple, everyone in the household talks about it...behind my father and _lovely_ stepmother's back of course," Satoshi said calmly. "When my mother found out she was pregnant with me, she came right to this household and demanded my father took responsibility for me. From what the older members tell me, my father freaked out and claimed he never met her, called her insane for even thinking the kid was his...he tried to pass me off as one of my brother's kids but my brothers aren't him. He treated her like shit and blamed her for not using protection when really it takes two to make a baby."

Mirai furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at Tsuna, who just stared at Satoshi with sadness but their teammate just grunted at him. He should be nicer to Tsuna, Mirai thought, scowling at the bastard. Her best friend was always defending him even though the bastard did nothing to deserve it. Honestly, even if his childhood was crappy it doesn't mean he should treat Tsuna like shit.

She couldn't forgive anyone who hurts her best friend.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Tsuna rang the doorbell. Blinking her eyes, Mirai leaned against her foot as she waited for the twins to open the door. It was already five o'clock so the twins must be back from school and knowing Mio, the girl must have already done her homework which meant she would be watching T.V.

"Who is it?" A squeaky voice, which no doubt belonged to Ryo, asked.

Tsuna grinned. "It's Tsuna and I brought company with me."

Mirai watched as the door swung open, revealing a grinning Ryo. Before her best-friend could greet his little brother, the little boy tackled Tsuna to ground as he gave him a hug. Satoshi glanced at her and raised his eyebrows but Mirai just shrugged her shoulder, just smiling as Ryo continue to hug her best friend.

"Tsuna-niichan!" Ryo yelled. "How's your mission? Do you kick any baddie asses? Tell me Tsuna-niichan! You never tell me what happen in your missions! And hello Mirai! Who is the guy beside you Tsuna-niichan? Tsuna-niichan, why is he scowling at me? And what's for dinner? I don't want to eat the food Mama made since it was the same thing like yesterday! Can you make ramen? Pretty please, Tsuna-niichan."

Mirai blinked her eyes at the range of questions that Ryo was asking her best friend. She forgot how many questions the little boy could ask as well as the fact how much energy the boy could ask. When she was his age, she would come back home with so little energy that she could never bring herself to ask her mother about how her work was. This boy had so much energy that it was terrifying.

"Have you been eating candy again Ryo?" Tsuna asked, pushing the little boy off of him. "And I'm not telling you about our missions...not until you have your first mission. Also, don't you remember Satoshi? He's Jun's uncle and my teammate...he was at dinner two weeks ago."

"He doesn't look old enough to be an Uncle," Ryo said, blinking his eyes at Satoshi. "And you don't look anything like that annoying girl."

Satoshi curled his lips at Ryo's words but made no attempts to scold the young boy about his thoughts on his niece. Then again, Satoshi complained about his own niece so it shouldn't surprise her that he would make no attempts to stop the boy thoughts on her niece.

"Ryo."

"It's true," Ryo said, pouting as the three of them walked towards the couch, where Mio was doing her homework. "Jun always follows Haruto around whenever she can and her voice is so loud! She also giggles whenever Haruto, Mio and I trains."

"Jun isn't that bad!" Mio declared, making a face at her twin brother. "She's just a bit bad when she's near Haruto, if you talk to her then she's very nice."

"Nice my ass."

"Ryo!" Tsuna scolded, causing everyone to laugh. "How many times did Mum tell you not to use any bad language?"

"A lot."

"And what did she tell you to do after you say them?"

"To say sorry but Dad always say that I shouldn't lie," Ryo pointed out, crossing his arms. "And I'm not sorry. She's not nice. She always calls me bad names like annoying and stupid! I'm not stupid."

Mirai glanced at Tsuna, who rubbed his temple at his brother's words, and then to Satoshi, who sighed at the young boy's words. The black-haired girl didn't know Jun all that well but she did know from the moment Ryo met Jun, the boy disliked her especially more so when the girl started to follow Haruto around.

"You're not stupid Ryo," Tsuna said, giving Mio a warning look when the girl rolled her eyes at her brother. "It takes brains to do the pranks you make but Jun is only four, she doesn't know any better."

"Haruto is only four and he agrees with me when I say pranking takes brains," Ryo said, crossing his arms.

Mio rolled her eyes. "Haruto says that because he knows you'll complain if he doesn't agree. If you're not stupid then you stop making things hard for Mum."

"Why? She pays more attention to me when I do it."

"Because Mum's job is more important than your stupid pranks!"

"Stop it you two!"

Despite sounding annoyed, Tsuna had that bright smile on his face; the smile that always brought warmth to the pits of her stomach, the same smile which Mirai swear could melt the coldest people. Ever since she saw his first smile, Mirai knew she would do everything in her power to make sure Tsuna kept smiling like that because it was that smile which allowed her to pull through her darkest thoughts.

It was that smile which made her decide she wanted to protect him.

* * *

When Naru was young, she had two important dreams. Her first dream was to become a Hokage, a dream she finally accomplished just a year ago, and her second dream was to have a big family. She remembered how she kept that dream to herself until she met Reborn, how the man charmed her and asked her about her dreams for the future. She never told him about her first dream but she told him about her second dream. The man had given her a smirk and told her that a woman with her beauty would find no troubles in finding a man to make that dream come true.

Sometimes, Naru wondered how her ex-lover was doing.

Shaking her head, she looked down at her sleeping son, scooped him up and stared at his sleeping face. He definitely looked like her whenever he slept like that, Naru thought, stroking her son's face. Out of all her biological kids, only Haruto inherited her hair colour but her son had more of his father in his personality while Ryo had her personality. Though if there was one thing, her two sons shared in common, it was the fact they worshipped the ground Tsuna walked on.

From the moment Ryo could walk, her little boy would follow Tsuna around, tugging on her eldest's clothes as he demanded a piggyback ride. The same went for Mio. She remembered how the twins would stare at Tsuna, copying his behaviour so that they could be just like him. Sadly, Mio didn't try to copy her brother anymore but Ryo still did it.

Her son didn't try to make it obvious but Naru knew her son was doing everything Tsuna used to do, the only thing being was the fact he wasn't the top of his class. No, that honour went to Mio, but her son was still in the top five in his class. Sasuke would have complained about it but if he ever dared say it in front of Ryo, Naru would slam her fist against her husband's head. No one could hurt her child's feelings.

"You should take him back home, Naru," A voice said, snapping her from her train of thought.

Naru blinked her eyes and relaxed when she realized it was Sakura standing in front of her with her arms crossed and a concern expression on her face. How long had her teammate been in here? It mustn't be long because her teammate would yell at her for not noticing her. If she didn't have Haruto in her arms, Naru had no doubt the woman would have tried to hit her because not even having a child or being pregnant, would cool her teammate's temper down.

Though her teammate married the boss of a Yakuza so her temper did her some good.

"I was planning to Sakura-chan," Naru said, gazing at her son's sleeping face. "What brought you here, Sakura-chan? Shouldn't you be at home with your own kid?"

"My husband is watching over her," Sakura answered. "I just want to check up on you. Since Sasuke-kun isn't here to make sure you're eating properly, it's my job as your teammate and friend to make sure you're eating well."

"I haven't eaten any ramen," Naru said, frowning. "Y'know how hard it is for me not to eat any ramen? Are you sure I can't even have one taste Sakura-chan?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at her. "If you want your child to have anything wrong then go ahead but Kami, even after two pregnancies...you'll think you have learnt your lesson on ramen."

"Two pregnancies?"

"Naru, I'm not stupid," Sakura said, crossing her arms at her. "I did the Math and while Tsuna looks like a male version of you, the boy's birthdate doesn't match your length of pregnancy. Besides, I know you and besides that one incident with the twins, you're careful with birth control."

"Sakura…"

"Why didn't you tell me about Tsuna?" Sakura asked, opening the door for her. "We're teammates and teammates don't keep secrets from each other. Do you know how stupid I felt when I realized that Sasuke also knew about Tsuna? Because there's no way you would have adopted a child without him knowing. The two of you spent two years on the road so of course, he'll know when you adopted to him."

"Sakura, can we talk about this somewhere else? Haruto might hear you," Naru said, glancing down at her sleeping son.

Sakura's eyes softened at her request and nodded her head. "Alright but Naru just answer me one question, why didn't you tell me about it? You know you can trust me about these type of things. I thought we're teammates and teammates don't hide these type of things from each other. Who else knew about Tsuna?"

"Besides you? Just Sasuke," Naru admitted as the two of them walked down the street, which would lead her to her home. "I know that Kiba suspects about Tsuna and it wouldn't surprise me if Shikamaru had figured out the truth. Nothing ever escapes his notice but he hadn't confronted me yet about it. Hinata-chan and Lee don't know... I think."

"Why the secret? It wouldn't have hurt anyone if you admitted the truth," Sakura said as they turned to the corner. "No one would have judged you for taking in a parentless boy…"

"He's not parentless," Naru admitted. "His biological mother is still alive...though I don't know about his father."

Sakura blinked her eyes. "Naru, don't tell me you…"

"Not exactly," Naru said sheepishly, gazing down at her sleeping son. "It can't be considered kidnapping when a little boy begged me to take him in. Sakura, Tsuna was barely two but he looked at me with such sad, lonely eyes that I knew I couldn't just abandon him with his mother. His mother, that awful woman, paid more attention to his twin brother then him! She didn't even realized she left her son alone."

Her teammate grimaced at her answer. Naru knew from the way her teammate kept rubbing her pregnant belly and the way she kept glancing at the happy children running around the streets that her teammate was thinking about the future of her soon to be two kids. Her teammate cared a lot about her daughter, about the orphans in the orphanage that she opened, and almost every kid in this village that she helped deliver and heal.

It must make her teammate sick that someone didn't care about their own kid.

"So you took him in and decided to tell people that he was your own flesh and blood," Sakura whispered, pressing her hands into her pockets. "You let some of the people you helped protect called you all those names because you didn't want Tsuna to remember her."

"I didn't want him to remember his pain," Naru admitted. "Tsuna doesn't realize it but there are times when he looks at our family like it is a dream. Sometimes when I walk passed his room, I can still hear him cry out for his biological mother, asking her why she didn't pay attention to him. I never ever want him to remember those things. My son deserved better than to have those painful memories."

"Are you ever going to tell him the truth?"

"I will," Naru answered, stroking her son's blond hair as the two of them turned to the next corner. "I can't keep hiding it from him forever. Tsuna is smart and sooner or later my son will realize the secret that I've been hiding from him. It's better he knows the truth from me then for him to realize that I've been hiding the truth from him for such a long time."

"When are you going to tell him the truth?"

"After the chuunin exams."

Sakura blinked her eyes. "That's in five months time, Naru! Why are you going to do it after that?"

"I don't know but something tells me that's the best time to tell him," Naru said, smiling. "He's going to be so angry with me for keeping it a secret for so long and I'm afraid, he might even hate me for it. I just hope he'll still consider me his mother...it'll pain me if he stops calling me Mama."

"Naru…"

"I raised him for nearly eleven years now, Sakura," Naru whispered as the two of them finally reached her neighbourhood. "I was there for his very first day of school. I played with him, fed him and scolded him for every bad thing he did. Sasuke and I trained him so that we would never have to worry about hearing the news he was gone. I might not have given birth to him but that boy is my son. He was the boy who made me a mother."

"And Tsuna won't abandon you or Sasuke when you tell him the truth," Sakura said, giving her a smile. "Because unlike you Naru, Tsuna doesn't jump to conclusions. The bond between you and him isn't something that could be easily destroyed because you're his mother."

"Sakura-chan…"

"It seems like we reach your street," Sakura said, giving her a smile. "Tell my beautiful godchildren that I say hi and I expect you to go to your appointment next week. Hokage or not, you still need to do check up."

"And who is going to keep an eye on Haruto while I do my check up with you?" Naru asked, looking down at her sleeping son. "I don't want to have to deal with complaints from the genin because my son decided to tell them the truth."

"You could always assign the mission to Tsuna," Sakura pointed out. "I'll tell Satoshi to bring Jun with him too when that happens."

"Sakura, I've to let them choose their missions."

"Your check-up is more important than having to deal with my brother-in-law complaining about how he didn't sign up to babysit your kids," Sakura said, rolling her eyes. "No matter what people say, that boy is clearly his father's son. I've never met men who complained so much until I met that man."

"If you think he's bad then I don't know what you think of Ichiru."

Sakura grinned at her and Naru couldn't help but smile back at her teammate. If anyone could deal with her former family members, it would be Sakura because the only way to get any one of those men to listen was to beat them up. Those four men wouldn't listen to anyone unless they were frightened of them and unfortunately for Naru, her former guardian wasn't scared of her.

Naru wished he was because she would be able to make his youngest son's life a hell lot easier for him.

Sadly, Naru wasn't a miracle worker and the only thing she could do now was make sure that her son made friends with her former guardian's son. She could never forgive herself if that boy ended up becoming a criminal or fulfill his dreams.

* * *

When she entered her house, Naru was surprised to be greeted of the sight of her eldest son and his team eating dinner with the twins. Didn't her son and his team usually go out to eat? What made them decide to eat with Ryo and Mio? She shook her head and smiled as she watched her son and daughter argued over the last piece of sandwich, only to get gently scolded by Tsuna. She didn't miss the laughter from Mirai or the shaking head of Satoshi.

How long would this last? Naru wondered as she waited for them to realize she was here. Would Tsuna still scold Ryo and Mio whenever they were being silly when she told him the truth? Or would he grow to resent their family because of her selfish desire of keeping him with her? She felt her heart contract as the image of Tsuna leaving the house in the middle of the night without leaving a letter. Was she willing to take the risk of him leaving her? Couldn't she just hold on to him for a little bit longer? He was her baby boy, her son and she didn't want him to leave her.

She didn't want him to get involved with his previous family, not when Naru knew his mother didn't even care for him.

" _Mama care for Daichi! Mama don't care Tsuna!"_

Those words still haunted her and every time Naru stared at her kids, she feared her children may end up of thinking she cared for one of them greater than the others. She loved all of her kids equally but there was still a shadow of doubt that her kids didn't think she loved them. This was especially true with Ryo. Her son did pranks and so many other things because he wanted her attention. It was like her son thought she loved her job more than him and his siblings.

That was untrue because if she had to choose giving up her job or giving up her family, Naru would hand over her position in a heartbeat.

"Mama! Mama is back!"

Naru blinked her eyes and smiled as Ryo and Mio rushed out of the table and hugged her legs, looking up at her with blue eyes that told her more than anything how much they missed her. One day, they would stop giving her those looks, Naru thought to herself as she smiled down at her children and told them how much she missed them because one day they were going to grow up and leave her to live their own lives. She looked at Tsuna, who smiled at her and felt her throat tightened as she realized just how her little boy was growing up.

She wished he didn't grow up.

"Welcome back, Mama," Tsuna said, giving her that smile she loved. "Ryo! Mio! Let go of Mama so she could put Haruto to bed."

"Why does Haruto get to go to Mama's office and we can't?" Ryo asked, pouting. "We're older than him but he gets to see Mama work."

"That's because Haruto doesn't cause trouble for Mama, unlike you," Mio answered.

"I don't cause trouble."

"You put instant ramen on top of the door as a prank for Shino-sensei," Mio said dryly, crossing her arms. "And you painted the walls of the Hyuga clan compound with the words 'stuck-up'."

"That's because they're stuck up," Ryo said, earning rolling eyes from everyone in the room. "They are! They always pull faces whenever I do my awesome pranks. Even Hinata-obasan agrees with me and she's the head of the Hyuga clan...I wonder how Hinata-obasan is related to them. She's fun and they aren't fun."

When her son says these things, Naru couldn't help but remember how she said the same thing but to Hinata. Her best-friend flushed red and looked surprised at her words before muttering the words 'thank you'. Those were the days when Hinata had been a shy little girl but time changed people, the war changed people and Hinata-chan was no longer the shy little girl Naru knew.

Instead, Hinata was a confident young woman who could even frighten her.

"Mama, do you want me to carry Haruto to his room?" Tsuna asked, snapping her from her train of thought. "You must be tired from work right? And I know you need some rest and food so I'll take Haruto to his room and you can go eat."

Nodding her head, Naru handed her youngest son to Tsuna, who promptly cradled the young boy to his chest and headed up the stairs to Ryo and Haruto's room. That boy was a good boy, Naru thought, making her way towards the dining table, where Mirai and Satoshi argued over the next mission Shikamaru might choose for them to do. If his mother had cared for him, would Tsuna still want to be a ninja? Or would he dream to be something else? Was it right for her to allow him to become a ninja? It might have been Tsuna's choice but Naru wondered if her son ever wanted to have a normal safe job.

Those were things she wondered about but were just too afraid to ask, which was ironic because Uzumaki Naru wasn't afraid of anything.

"Naru-obachan, when is Sasuke-ojisan coming back?" Mirai asked, snapping her out of her thoughts.

Naru blinked her eyes and raised her eyebrows at her son's best friend's sudden question. The black-haired girl flushed red and poked her fingers together, a habit the young girl picked up from Hinata, who always did the same thing whenever she was nervous.

"Tsuna misses him and I know that you miss him so I was wondering how long…"

"You have to see Tsuna mop about Sasuke?" Naru guessed, causing the black-haired girl nod her head while Satoshi rolled his eyes.

"Why the hell are you rolling your eyes, bastard?" Mirai yelled.

Naru's eyebrows twitched and gave a pointed look at the girl, who flushed red at her. Satoshi snickered at Mirai's response while her daughter and son looked at her in confusion. If Ryo and Mio started to swear after hearing Mirai's words, Naru was going to have to scrub their tongues with soap and then give a long lecture to Mirai about controlling her language in front of her kids. Kami, she didn't want to hear her kids swear...not in front of her at least.

"Why do you care if he comes back? As long as Uchiha-san comes back then it shouldn't matter," Satoshi commented, taking a bite of the food her son made. "If Uchiha-san is the type to leave his family for years then I could understand but the Uchiha always come back."

"How do y'know that? You don't know Sasuke-ojisan so how do you know these things?" Mirai yelled.

Satoshi rolled his eyes. "It isn't like I haven't seen the man with his family did I? Besides, Uzumaki talked about his Sasuke-ojisan every time in school...when he's not talking about Hokage-sama and he doesn't disappear for long periods of time. Besides, I got eyes and anyone with brains can see he won't leave his family for a very long time."

The boy didn't say it with resentment, which was a surprise for Naru because Naru suspected the boy had issues with people with loving families but Satoshi didn't seem angry or bitter about Tsuna's life. If anything, the boy was indifferent to it and Naru was glad for it. She hated the idea of her son having conflicts with his teammate because of issues with family. It never did end pretty when the family was brought to the picture.

"Sasuke will be back soon...in a week time," Naru answered before Mirai could retort at Satoshi's comment. "And Satoshi is right, Sasuke doesn't disappear for long periods of time. He only goes out of the village for business but as soon as his business is over, he comes back."

"Was that why he left the first time? He was gone for two years," Mirai said, earning a furrowed eyebrow from the twins and Satoshi. "Tsuna cried for days when he left...didn't he think about you or Tsuna when he decided to leave?"

"The first time Sasuke left wasn't because of business...it was for personal reasons," Naru admitted, smiling widely as she remembered the day he came back. "He needed time away from the village, time away from the people in the village but most of all he needed to do some searching."

"What was Tou-san searching for? And why did he leave Mama and Tsuna-niisan?" Mio asked, blinking her eyes.

"And how do y'know he won't do that again?" Ryo asked, tilting his head.

How could she tell them she didn't know? Naru was many things but she couldn't see the future. If Sasuke thought it would benefit the village for him to leave for years then she had no doubt her husband would do it, even if it meant it would hurt their kids. She loved her husband but she couldn't deny the fact her husband sometimes acted like his brother, putting the village first and then their family.

She could understand because she could be like that at times.

"Mama doesn't know but Papa won't do it because he wants too, right Mama?" Naru twisted her head around and smiled at the sight of Tsuna standing there with a small smile on his face. "And I don't know why Papa left the first time but I know it wasn't easy for him...because Papa loved Mama so much that it hurts for him to leave us."

"Yes, your father wouldn't do it because he wants too and maybe one day Sasuke will tell you why he left the first time."

Her son deserved to know the truth about the man who he called father but it wasn't her job to tell him. This was something Sasuke needed to admit about and tell their kids about because Naru knew one day, someone would slip and say something that would hurt her kids' feelings. It would hurt Tsuna the most if he knew the truth about Sasuke's past because her son was always so empathic to people's feelings. If he found out about Sasuke's past then her son would start to think about the politics of the shinobi world.

The last thing she wanted was for him to get involved in politics.

Though, something told her that her son was going to get involved whether she liked it or not.

* * *

"Why did you call me here? And who is this, Tou-san?" Iemitsu asked when he saw a young man sitting across his father, taking a sip of tea. His father smiled at him and for the first time since his mother's death, Iemitsu could see the joy in his father's eye and he wondered what was happening. Did he win a bet against the ninth again? If that was why his father was happy then Iemtisu didn't understand the competition between the two old man.

"Iemitsu, I would like to meet Sasuke Uchiha...he's your cousin's husband."

"Cousin?" Iemitsu asked, furrowing his eyebrow.

"When your cousin run away, he somehow found himself in a small village where people are trained to be ninjas," his father said casually. Iemitsu blinked his eyes and glanced at the dark-haired man, who stared impassively at him but reluctantly nodded his head. "He spent years there, got married to a woman and has a daughter who is twenty-nine years old."

"Right...why did you bring me here? I have a job to do."

"What job? I know damn well you finished work three hours ago," His father answered sharply. "And you need to take rest from searching Tsuna, working yourself to the ground will not let you bring back the boy. Besides, I want you to show the man around."

"I'll be going back to Japan tonight," The man Sasuke said, shaking his head. "I don't like staying here for long especially since my children are young."

"Your son Ryo is a troublemaker right?" His father asked, giving him a smile.

"Just like his mother," Sasuke answered but Iemitsu didn't miss the note of fondness in the man's voice. "If it weren't for his brother that boy could cause more trouble."

"For a four-year-old, Haruto must be very responsible," his father commented.

"He takes after my brother and his grandfather," Sasuke answered though Iemitsu didn't miss the hesitance in his voice or how he glanced at him. What was this man hiding? Was he trying to build up his father's hopes of finding out what happened to Minato? If he was, Iemitsu was going to make the man learn what happened to people who messed with his family.

"I wish the same could be said for Daichi," His father said dryly. "That boy might be popular but that boy can be so irresponsible."

"He isn't irresponsible."

"Have you ever tell the boy no whenever he didn't get his way?"

"No."

"Sasuke, don't spoil your kids," his father advised. "Also, make sure whenever they're acting stupid and punish them accordingly. My son didn't learn my parenting style since that son of his always asks my son for too many things when he's way...that boy thinks Iemitsu has a lot of money."

The dark-haired man looked uncomfortable at his father's words while Iemitsu felt the sudden urge to strangle his father for embarrassing him like that in front of this stranger. Was it wrong for him to give his son what he wanted? He couldn't always be there for Daichi and he didn't want his son to think just because he was searching for Tsuna that he didn't love the boy any less.

He was going to do the same for Tsuna though with Tsuna, he owed the boy nearly thirteen years worth of Birthday presents and even Christmas presents.

"I'm not always there for Daichi, Tou-san," He reminded his father, rubbing his temple. "And after what happened with Tsuna, I didn't want him to think I love him less than his brother because I'm searching for him."

"How long have you been searching for Tsuna?" Sasuke asked him, looking so emotionless that Iemitsu had to wonder what kind of woman his cousin's daughter had to be for her to marry him. Seriously, he hadn't seen the man once smile since he entered the room and the way he looked at him just made Iemitsu want to punch him in the face. The way he looked at him was the same way Reborn looked at him...they looked at him like he was a fool and Iemitsu wasn't a fool.

He might have been handed his position but he made sure he was worthy to fulfil the job.

"Ever since I found out my wife lost him so seven years now," Iemitsu said, crossing his arms. "My wife lost our son in the park, well to be more accurate he was kidnapped by a blond-haired woman. You see when my wife was playing with Daichi in the park, a blond-haired woman talked to my son and played with him...it wouldn't be a problem if it weren't for the fact the bitch took my son away from us!"

His father sighed and shook his head while the dark-haired man stared darkly at him. Was it him or was the room becoming colder? Iemitsu thought, staring at the dark emotionless eyes of his cousin's husband. For a brief moment, Iemitsu swore the man was fingering his sword as if he was debating about something. Something wasn't right, Iemitsu thought, why was the man angry? Did he know the woman? No, if he know the woman and knew where his son was then he wouldn't have come here.

After all, why would a kidnapper come here?

"Where were you when it happened?" Sasuke asked, raising his eyebrow. "Why would you blame the woman but not your own wife? Why not blame yourself? You are the boy's father, shouldn't you have kept an eye on your own son?"

"I had work to do, I can't abandon my job for my family...I want too but I can't abandon it since grandfather made that stupid bet which sealed my working life," Iemitsu explained, causing his father to grimace and for Sasuke to blink his eyes. "And who says I haven't blamed my wife for this? I love my wife with all my heart but when I learned she essentially forgot about our son until late that night and never told me for four years, I yelled at her and nearly left our family because of her mistake. If it weren't for Daichi, I would have left her but my son needs his mother. As to why I blame the woman, well it's her fault I don't have my eldest...it's her fault I can't watch my son grow up. I can never know what his first day of school is like, I don't know who he takes after but most of all, I don't know what he likes."

"You haven't explained about why you haven't kept an eye on your son," Sasuke pointed out. "You're a part of the Mafia, which means you have enemies and all your enemies will target your family. Why didn't you have someone watch them?"

"I want my kids to have a normal life," Iemitsu said, crossing his arms. "If I let people watch over them then they would never experience having a normal life...besides, having people watch over them would draw more attention to them. I thought the best way to protect them wasn't to show my presence a lot in town."

Sasuke stared long and hard at him, pursed his lips and said. "What you think is the best way to protect them might not be the best way for them or for you. Your actions along with your wife led to your son becoming missing."

"I know but I'll bring him back."

"And then what? You think you can restore your family again?" Sasuke asked, crossing his arms. "Your son hasn't seen you for a very long time now...he changed and might have found a life that doesn't fit into your idea of family. If you find the boy, I doubt you and your family will have the relationship you want...especially with how your wife was not looking for the boy until nighttime."

"He's right Iemitsu," His father said tiredly. "Wherever Tsuna is right now, there's no guarantee the boy would be the boy you left at the age of one. Just like how Daichi changed, Tsuna might have also changed. Don't be disappointed when you find out that the son you have been searching for, wasn't how you imagine him to be."

"He's still my son isn't he? He could be a murderer for all I care and I'll still love that boy," Iemitsu said quietly, clenching his hands into a fist. "I don't expect him to be the same boy I knew...the last time I saw him, the last time I held him was when he was one and now he's going to be thirteen and I know he would have changed. For all I know, he might have a cute girlfriend and living happily but I can't take the risk he's suffering. Why would a woman take a child she barely knew?"

"If you ever find Tsuna and see that woman, would you ask her that question?"

"Yes."

"And if her answer is adequate? Would you still try to harm her?" Sasuke asked him.

One part of him wanted to yell yes but Iemitsu knew better than to harm someone who had a reasonable answer. He had seen the videotape and while he thought his son was kidnapped, Iemitsu knew in his heart that wasn't true because he could still remember how sad his son looked when he saw his wife playing with Daichi. It was reasonable for his baby boy to want someone to take him away but what he couldn't understand was why would the woman do it?

Why would she take his son away from him? What did she gain from this?

"No, I won't hurt her."

He hoped the woman didn't have a good reason because Iemitsu really wanted to hurt her for hurting his family like this.

* * *

 **A/N** : **I know it has been a long time since I updated but the good news that my January exams are over however I'm afraid that I can't update regularly until my exams in May and June are over. When those exams are over, I'll update Whirlpool Son regularly since it's my top priority. Please tell me what you think about this chapter and the next few chapters will be focused more on Tsuna and his mission.**


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: I know it has been a long time since I have updated but I really had a hard time writing this chapter.

* * *

Leaning against his foot, Tsuna watched as his sensei shook his head and muttered about how happy he didn't have a daughter. The reason why his sensei say that? Mirai was begging and demanding their sensei to give them a real mission. Tsuna couldn't blame his best-friend for asking for a real mission. All the missions they have been given so far were all things any civilian could do but were just too lazy to do.

No matter how hard he tried, Tsuna couldn't understand how pulling out weeds were considered a ninja mission. His siblings could do this without any problems, they might complain about it but Tsuna knew all three of his siblings could pull weeds. He took in a deep breath and glanced at Satoshi, who kept rolling his eyes at Mirai, who had her arms crossed as she gave their sensei her puppy dog look.

"Can't we do a C-rank mission at least?" Mirai pleaded, glancing at them. "Shikamaru-niisan, I don't want to do anymore chores or babysitting duties! I didn't become a ninja to do those things! I want to save people like you did during the war, like the stories Naru-obaachan used to tell Tsuna and me. I want to be an awesome ninja like Naru-obaachan and my Tou-san."

Mirai was really desperate for her to pull out the father card, Tsuna thought, putting his hands into his pockets as they made their way to his mother's office. He could count the number of times Mirai used the father card in one hand. His best-friend hated using the fact she had no father to get what she wanted. His best-friend would try other ways to get what she wanted but if she couldn't get it then she would use it.

So yes, she was desperate.

"What is wrong with staying the village? The missions here are a lot less troublesome then the ones that requires us to travel," Shikamaru-sensei asked, shaking his head. "And I don't hear Tsuna or Satoshi here complaining about the D-rank missions."

"It would be nice if we could go on a C-rank mission," Tsuna admitted, causing Shikamaru to groan. "I'm sorry Shikamaru-sensei but Mirai is right, these are missions that even my siblings could do without a problem."

"I think the only reason why the hell we're doing this is because the bastards can't be bothered to do their own work," Satoshi agreed, scowling. "Why the hell did we have to babysit the Hokage's brats with my bratty niece? Or pull weeds for some hag who looked healthy enough to do her own work?"

"That's my siblings you're talking about."

"So? I just insulted my half-brother's daughter too," Satoshi reminded him as the two of them continued on their way to the tower. "Anyways, why the hell do we have to do them? Finding a lost cat? That isn't a shinobi's job and the damn Damiyo's wife should get the idea that maybe she should just give up searching for her damn cat everytime it run away! Doesn't she get the idea that her cat hates her? Besides, we've been working our butt off doing useless missions!"

Tsuna grimaced at the reminder while Mirai nodded her head in agreement. Shikamaru shook his head at the black-haired boy and rubbed his temple before glancing up at the Hokage Monument, to be more specific the smiling face of Tsuna's mother. Knowing their sensei, Tsuna had no doubt that the man wondered why his mother saddled him with such 'troublesome' kids.

Their sensei sighed. "The three of you are such troublesome brats."

"Yet you still love us," Mirai declared, smiling cheekily at him. "C'mon Shikamaru-sensei, don't ya want to go out of the village and do some cool missions again? You can even take a break from Temari-neechan and I promise never to annoy you ever again about taking me to a dango shop."

Tsuna raised his eyebrow, Satoshi snorted at the girl's comment while Shikamaru looked at Mirai thoughtfully. Everyone in their team knew just how much the girl loved sweets, specifically dango and knew the dangers of buying her dango. One dango was never enough for Mirai, no Tsuna's best friend needed at least ten or twelve dango before she stopped eating it. It was a miracle Mirai hadn't gotten fat from the amount of dango she ate.

"We'll see what Hokage-sama have to say," Shikamaru-sensei finally said, crossing his arms.

His mother? Tsuna frowned and stared at the Hokage Tower. Would his mother be willing to let him do a mission outside of home? She was so protective of him and his siblings. Kami, he could still remember catching sight of his mother sitting on the tree on his second day of school. He never told his mother about it but Tsuna made sure his father knew about it.

"We're never going to get out of the village," Satoshi commented and he slumped his shoulder

Mirai nodded her head in agreement. "I love Naru-obaachan but she won't let us do a mission as long as we have Tsuna with us."

"Agreed," Tsuna said, stuffing his hands into his pocket.

Their sensei snorted and shook his head at them. Why did he act as if they were exagerrating? Tsuna thought, rubbing his temple. Shikamaru-sensei of all people should know just how protective his mother was of sensei had seen how his mother reacted when it turned out that he swore in front of him. Tsuna hadn't known it but apparently shit was a very bad word to say in front of his mother.

Even thinking about it, reminded him of the punishment his mother gave them.

"Naru is a very overprotective mother that much I can't disagree," Shikamaru said, staring at the three of them. "However, Naru is also a shinobi. She might not look like it but she won't let her personal feelings interfere with your missions. If she allowed her emotions to take hold of her judgement then she wouldn't have let Tsuna graduate or even enter the Academy."

Tsuna blinked his eyes at his sensei.

"What do you mean?"

"Becoming a shinobi means that you will experience death in some form either from having a comrade die on you or you being killed by the enemy," Their sensei explained, rubbing his temple. "There is always a chance that you will die on the job. No parent, civilian or not, likes the idea of having their child die before them."

Their sensei gave them a hard look before gesturing for them to head towards the tower. Tsuna nodded his head but not before glancing at his teammates, who just stared at their sensei. Mirai had a troubled look on her face while Satoshi just grimaced at them. What were they thinking? Tsuna wondered, pressing his hands into his pockets. Did they understand the risk that they were in now? Just listening to his sensei's words made him worried about the future.

He knew deaths were common but would it really hurt his mother if he died?

" _You're my little boy. You're the person who made me a mother…"_

For some reason, his mother's words from a couple of week ago was now haunting his mind. There was just something about his mother's tone which just didn't make sense to him. Those words were filled with happiness and joy but his mother's tone wasn't happy, if anything his mother's tone was filled with pain and sadness. He shook his head and rushed after his teammates, who were walking away from him. He wondered if his biological father hurt her in such a painful way that remembering how he was made hurt her.

Tsuna shook his head. Why should he care about the man who donated his sperm? His father was Sasuke Uchiha and nothing in the world would change this fact. He didn't care about the man who helped create him but Tsuna would show the man that his mother raised a strong shinobi.

He was going to make sure he became one of the most powerful shinobi, the world had ever seen. He was going to be so powerful that his mother never ever had to worry about him dying in the field. Tsuna was going to be strong enough that he would never lose someone important to him.

* * *

"So you guys want to do a C-rank mission?" Naru asked, staring at her son's team. Shikamaru nodded his head but not before giving her the distinct hand signs that told her that this was the kid's idea. She shook her head at her friend. Why was he so troubled about this? Did he think she wouldn't allow them not to do a C-rank mission? She pursed her lips and stared at her oldest son, who stared pleadingly into her eyes.

As a mother, she wanted to tell them no but Naru knew better than to let her own feelings influence her decisions as a Hokage. She remembered being their age and how frustrating it was to do missions that any oridinary civilian could do. It wasn't fun and as a shinobi herself, she knew these D-rank missions wouldn't give them the experience they need. Out of everyone in their year group, these kids had one of the highest mission success.

If she was to be honest, those kids were more then ready for their first C-rank mission.

"Alright."

"Seriously, you're not going to refuse us?" Satoshi asked, staring wide-eyed at us. "I thought you were going to refuse us because of Tsuna."

Naru shook her head at the black-haired boy. "Brat, do you think the fact that Tsuna is my son is going to stop me from letting you guys do a C-rank mission? Wait, don't answer my question. As a mother, I want to say no because of the dangers which could be present in a C-rank mission but as a Hokage, I can see you guys are more then ready for your first C-rank mission. As a shinobi, I know if you want to climb to the top or get more experience then you will need to do harder missions."

"So are we doing a C-rank mission, Naru-obaachan?"

Naru stared at their hopeful faces and for a brief moment, she saw her former team standing in front of her. Didn't she begged the Third Hokage for a C-rank mission? She could remember Kakashi-sensei sighing as she demanded for a better mission. The blue-eyed girl could distantly recall how she wanted to prove to the Hokage how she wasn't the same little girl. Yes, she could see aspects of her former team in these kids.

Yet these kids weren't like her former team. Looking back, Naru wondered if they really had been prepared for their mission if it had been a simple C-rank mission. Unlike her team, Naru knew Shikamaru had been training to the bone. She knew from the ocassional spying that these three kids were more then ready for this job.

"You guys are more then ready to do a C-rank mission."

Mirai grinned and pumped her fist up in the air, while her oldest son and Satoshi just relaxed their shoulders. What were they worried about? Her son of all people should know she wasn't terrifying, in fact if you asked Naru, she was a hell lot more relax then Sakura. Her pink-haired teammate actually broke buildings when she was furious with someone, specifically with her husband when he came back home late from drinking with his gangmembers.

"May you give me the lists of C-rank missions, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru asked, drawing her attention to them.

Naru grinned and handed the five C-rank missions scrolls left on the table to him. Nodding his head, her friend skimmed read through the scrolls she handed him in before handing her the scroll that asked for protection from a couple of thugs. Naru raised her eyebrows at Shikamaru but he shrugged his shoulder at her.

Who was she to talk? Her C-rank mission turned out to be an A-rank mission.

If it had been anyone else, she would think that they were biting off more then they could chew but Shikamaru was smart. He knew how to pick his missions and he knew his team well. If he thought those kids could handle it then they could handle it. Still, this mission was near the entrance gate to the veil and if one of the kids took one wrong step out of the veil then they might find themselves in Japan.

Japan may be safe but Naru didn't want those kids to wonder why they were separated from the rest of the world. It also didn't help that she didn't want Tsuna to know about his past just yet but, Shikamaru trusted them. Shikamaru knew them and if there was one thing she could trust about her friend, he would try to keep them alive and safe.

He would bring them back home to their families even if it killed him.

Taking in a deep breath, Naru nodded her head.

"The four of you will report to the first entrance gate at six hundred hours," Naru informed them, staring hard into the three kids eyes. "Your job is to protect a merchant from a couple of thugs as he heads towards Nami no Kuni with his cargo."

"We're finally doing a real mission!"

 _I have a feeling this mission was going to change everything and I don't know if it is going to be good or bad thing,_ Naru thought, skim reading through the scroll's content. If they make one wrong step then those kids may find themselves in Tokyo. She might be paranod but her son just had the worse luck when it ame to these type of things. She mentally shook her head. Why was she thinking so negative? There was just no way they would go there.

Either way, something told her that this mission wasn't going to be as easy as her friend thought it would be.

* * *

"What, Tsuna-niisan isn't going to be at home for the next two weeks?" Ryo asked, staring wide-eyed at Tsuna and their mother. Tsuna nodded his head and glanced at Mio and Haruto. His youngest two siblings didn't look happy to hear this but what could he do about it? This was the first time in his life that he was leaving the village without his family by his side. It would be the first time he could experience the outside world without the presence of his family. "Mama, can we go with Tsuna?"

His mother shook her head. "No, Ryo. Your brother is going out of the village because of a mission, not because he's going on a holiday."

"But who is going to play games with us?" Ryo cried, waving his hands up in the air. "Or read storybooks to us? Can't he have a mission in the village? I don't want him to go! Papa is already gone! Now Aniki! Are you going to leave us too to go to some faraway place?"

Their mother's eyes widened at hearing his brother's accusation. Tsuna gulped when he caught sight of the pained look on his mother's eyes. He opened his mouth but closed it when Mio smiled widely at them before elbowing Ryo in the ribs.

"Mio, how many times have I told you not to hurt your brother? The two of you shouldn't be fighting with each other," Mio opened her mouth but their mother shook her head at Mio. "What Ryo said was rude but it doesn't mean you can hurt your brother. He has a right to tell me how he feels about your brother going on a mission."

"But Mama, he hurt your feelings!" Mio cried. "Ryo-oniichan always say mean things to you even when Haruto and me tell him that you are busy because of work. Mama, I can't let him say anything mean to you."

"I'm happy that you want to save me from hearing Ryo's words but Mio, it shouldn't be your job to discipline him. I know how your brother feels towards my job but Ryo, I am never ever going to leave you or your sibling," Naru declared, smiling sadly at them before glancing out at the shelf, where the picture of their grandparents stood. "To me, the four of you are the most important people in my life. The four of you gave me something that I have always dreamed, something I never really had until I had Tsuna. I know I am not always there for you and I know it frustrates the four of you that I can't be there but, I will always try my best to be there. When your brother leaves for your mission, I promise to play with you Ryo and I will give tips on how to improve your pranks."

"What about the paperwork? If you are going to play games with us then who is going to do the paperwork? Sakura-obaachan will kill you if she finds out you skipped the paperwork," Haruto said, tilting his head at her.

"I will have my shadow clones deal with it Haru," Their mother informed him, waving off his youngest brother's concerns. "And even Sakura-chan will understand if I let them do work, she's the one telling me to take it easy."

Tsuna rubbed his eyes and smiled when he caught sight of the smile on his mother's face. He glanced at his younger siblings. He saw the hopeful looks on Ryo and Mio's faces, and then glanced at his youngest brother, who grinned at their mother. Their mother would try her hardest to keep her promise but Tsuna wouldn't hold it against her if she didn't keep to her promise with his siblings. His mother did have a mountain of paperwork to do and he doubt any shadow clone would get rid of it.

"Mama...when is Papa coming back home?" Haruto asked, tilting his head at them. "Papa has been gone longer then three weeks now, Mama. Is his mission going alright, Kaa-chan? It has been a week already, Mama so why isn't he back home yet?"

Tsuna frowned at his little brother and glanced at his mother, who just rubbed her forehead at the reminder of his father's lack of presence in their home. From the twitching of his mother's eyebrows, Tsuna knew without a doubt that when their father came back home that he would be sleeping in the couch. He grimaced and silently thanked Mirai for demanding a C-rank mission.

He did not want to be there when his mother grilled his father for being late.

"Your father will try his best to come back home on time but it doesn't mean your father won't be late," Naru informed Haruto, taking a seat on the couch. The blond-haired woman rubbed her forehead. "Still, I don't know why your father is late in coming back. It just isn't like him to be so damn late to come back home. If he knows what is good for him, he will come back home before this weekend or else I will end him. "

Tsuna gulped when he saw his mother long golden hair splitting into nine distinct tails. Oh no. Their mother was going to kill their father as soon as he came back home from his mission. He glanced at his siblings, who stared at him. He gave a weak shrug. How could he calm their mother down when she was in this state? Just one wrong word spelled death for him.

"Mama, didn't you say Papa will come back home as soon as he finished his job?" Tsuna asked, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know Papa always come back home. He will never ever leave the village without reason...you said it yourself."

Naru took in a couple of deep breaths and slumped her shoulders. "I know your father always come back to us but if he doesn't come back soon then he will be facing some very obvious news."

"Obvious news?" Tsuna asked, furrowing his eyebrows at his mother.

Their mother smiled and patted her stomach. Tsuna frowned and opened his mouth to question his mother but closed it as the memory of his mother's pregnancy with the twins rushed through his mind. Didn't she say a similar thing at that time too? In fact, she said the same thing when it came to Haruto's birth. He glanced at the twins and Haruto, who all just stared at their mother in confusion. Tsuna gulped and made a curving motion of his stomach.

His mother laughed and nodded her head.

"What's happening? Why is Tsuna look like he seen a ghost?" Mio asked, bouncing up and down. "What do you mean by obvious news? What news is Papa going to find out? Tell us! We are old enough to find out, Mama."

Their mother smiled. "You are going to have a little brother or sister in seven months time."

Mio blinked and blinked her eyes before squealing outloud at this declaration. Haruto grinned at this announcement. Tsuna had no doubt his youngest brother was just happy to know he wouldn't be the baby of the family. The brown-haired boy smiled and glanced at Ryo, who just stared blankly at their mother's stomach as if he didn't know what to think of the news their mother gave them. Tsuna grimaced. He hoped his baby brother wouldn't be causing troubles for their mother because she was pregnant again.

"I am going to be a big brother again?" Ryo finally said, staring wide-eyed at their mother. "You are going to give me another little sibling? Can I decide on the name of my new brother or sister? Mio got to name Haruto! So can I name my new sibling?"

Tsuna relaxed his shoulders and laughed while Haruto just fixed his eyes on Mio, who laughed nervously at the blond-haired male. It still surprised him how Ryo could remember it was Mio who named his youngest brother. Ryo and Mio had barely been two years old when his youngest brother was born. Tsuna smiled softly as he remembered the excited looks on his siblings' face when their mother presented them with Haruto.

"Ok but your father and I will have to approve of it," Naru said, grinning. "I don't want you to give your little sister a boy's name."

"The baby is going to be a boy!" Ryo declared, crossing his arms against his chest. "And I am going to give him the coolest name ever! It is going to be a name so strong and powerful that no one will ever make fun of him."

Mio scowled. "The baby could be a girl, Ryo-oniichan!"

"It is a boy."

"Girl."

"Boy."

"Girl."

Tsuna bit his lips and stared at the arguing twins, who were now glaring at each other as they debated about the gender of their new sibling. It was just like them to argue about the gender of the baby, Tsuna thought, gazing at his mother's glittering blue eyes. Why couldn't they be happy with the fact their mother was giving them a new sibling? Then again, this would be the first pregnancy that they would be fully aware of.

He shook his head and gazed at his smiling mother, who just shook her head at Mio and Ryo's antics. What did his mother hope for? Did she want another girl? Or was she just happy to have another child again? Tsuna sighed and glanced at Haruto, who now had his eyes fixed on him. The blue-eyed boy had his eyebrows furrowed as he gazed at their mother and then at him.

"Tsuna-niichan, are you fine?"

Tsuna glanced at Haruto, who had his blue eyes fixed on him. The brown-haired boy smiled, ruffled his little brother's hair and nodded his head. Tsuna didn't need to be a mindreader to know his youngest brother wasn't asking about his feelings towards the baby. He knew his youngest brother was asking another type of question and while Tsuna didn't know what Haruto was asking, he did know that he was fine with everything.

He was just happy to have another addition to their family.

"Shouldn't I be asking you Haruto?" Haruto blinked his eyes and Tsuna grinned. "You aren't going to be the baby of the family anymore, which means your cuteness will have less effect on Mama."

"If Mama is pregnant then that means Haruto is going to join the big brother club!" Ryo declared, jumping off of his seat. The black-haired boy rushed towards Haruto and hugged the little boy so tight that Haruto was turning blue from the lack of air. Tsuna pulled Ryo away from Haruto, who was now grasping for air. Ryo just grinned at Haruto. "It seems like I will teach you how to be a cool big brother while Tsu-niichan is on his mission."

"No, thank you."

"C'mon aren't you worried that you will suck as a big brother? Don't you want to be an awesome brother?"

Staring at his two arguing brothers, Tsuna knew right then and there that he wouldn't trade his family for the world. It was only in this family that his siblings would worried about not being an awesome brother or sister. He glanced at his mother, who had a large smile on her face. Yeah, he wouldn't trade his family for the world.

This family of his was the reason for his desire to become stronger, because Tsuna knew in his heart that they made him the person he was today.

* * *

"Team Nine meet Kudo Soshi," Shikamaru-sensei said, gesturing to the old man standing in front of the gates.

Tsuna stared at the old man standing in front of them. The old man had messy gray hair and grey eyes that was so dark that it almost reminded Tsuna of the storm clouds. There were wrinkles around his eyes and mouths, telling Tsuna that the man must smile a lot. He looked so harmless with his crane but the dragon tatto decorated in his arm told him that the man wasn't as peaceful as he looked.

"So you three are the youngesters, who are going to take real good care of me?" Soshi asked, flickering his eyes at the three of them. He leaned against his crane and stared at them. His stare was so intense- it felt like Tsuna would combusted just from the man's gaze. It was that hard. The old man's eyes lingered on him the most and for a brief moment, the man had a flash of recognition of them. "You kids don't really like to introduce yourselves do you? Where I come from, it is considered very rude."

"My name is Uzumaki Tsunayoshi but you can call me Tsuna," Tsuna said, bowing at the old man. He elbowed Mirai, who winced and raised her eyebrows at him. The brown-haired boy rolled his eyes and gestured for her to continue on.

"My name is Yuuhi Mirai but you can call me Mirai," Mirai said, smiling at the old man. She glanced at Satoshi, who just stared blankly at the old man and then at Shikamaru-sensei, who rolled his eyes at him. Their sensei gestured for Satoshi to do what the old man asked.

"My name is Hashimoto Satoshi," Satoshi said, straightening his back as he stared at the old man. Soshi nodded his head at Satoshi. The old man scratched his head, shrugged his shoulders and smiled widely at them. There was a glint in the old man's eyes which told Tsuna that the man knew something they didn't but Tsuna didn't know what it could be.

"You guys don't look like you are going to be cowards," Soshi declared, rubbing his arms. "I do hope Shikamaru-san that these kids are strong enough to deal with a couple of thugs. I had hoped Chunnin would have taken my mission but these three would have to do."

"We are strong enough to deal with a couple of thugs!" Mirai declared, puffing her chest at the old man.

Soshi raised his fuzzy eyebrows at her, before throwing a dagger at the black-haired girl. The red-eyed girl tilted her head and blinked at the old man, who laughed and shook his head. Was the man insane? Why the hell would he throw a dagger at Mirai? Was this normal? Tsuna glanced at Shikamaru, who just blinked at the sudden move.

"Soshi-san, why did you throw a dagger at Mirai?"

"The girl talks big, I need to see if she can do the walk too," Soshi answered, shrugging his shoulder. "This mission is no joke Shikamaru-san. My cargo means the world to me and if your team doesn't protect it with their life then I will withdraw my business with Konoha. Besides...I do enjoy throwing daggers at people and seeing their reaction."

"I think we have an insane client," Satoshi muttered to Tsuna as he picked up the dagger from the ground. "Who the hell throws a dagger because he thinks it is fun? Can we switch missions?"

"And have my mother laugh at us for being terrified of the client...no way in hell," Tsuna declared. "Just ignore him Satoshi. We just have to put up with him for two weeks and then everything is over. Besides, do you want Mirai to rant at us for being sissies?"

Satoshi glanced at Mirai and then at Shikamaru-sensei before shaking his head at him. If there was one thing Tsuna could not stand, it was the idea that Mirai thought he was a coward. He might not like jumping into action like Mirai but he wasn't a damn coward. If he was a coward then his mother would be so pissed with him. No child of his mother was supposed to be a coward.

"I do have high expectations of all of you," Soshi said, nodding his head. "Since I do have the son of the Hokage with me and the bastard son of the head of the Yakuza with me."

They all blinked their eyes at him.

"I do my research on the people who agreed to take my job offer," Soshi said, waving their hands. "Now let's get this show on the road. I need to have this cargo delieved as soon as possible and I do hate to rip you people away from your families."

"I hate him!" Mirai declared, puffing her chest at him.

"Sweetheart, you can hate me all you want but I am the one paying you," Soshi reminded her as four of them walked out of the gates. "Besides, you four may learn something from me...especially you young Tsuna." Tsuna furrowed his eyebrows but the old man just stared at him with somber eyes. "Men with your appearance never did have any good luck in life...they all have the unfortunate chance of dying young. It might be in their blood but I do hope you won't end up like them. I do hope you will make something of yourself, just like your grandfather and ancestors has done."

For some reason, Tsuna felt his whole body shiver when the old man said those words. It felt as if this man was warning him about something. The brown-haired boy licked his lips. If he didn't know any better, he would say the man was telling him that he might die young just like his grandfather. Tsuna shook his head. No, he might be imagining things.

There was no way he would allow himself to die at a young age.

* * *

"Fight me, herbivore."

Sasuke blinked and blinked his eyes as he stared into the silver eyes of a teenage boy, who clutched the tonfa like it was his lifeline. Sasuke grimaced and glanced at his watch. He had barely been in Namimori for a day and already he had people wanting to fight him. He didn't want to fight some kid, who he could easily beat. It also didn't help he looked like a mini-version of his friend, who had been an amazing taijutsu specilist despite his lack of chakra. Still if he didn't know Fon was a man who was careful, Sasuke would have thought that the boy was his friend's kid.

"You are very cocky kid aren't you?" Sasuke commented, tilting his head when the teen swung his tonfa at him. He really did need to finish this fight soon because it had been nearly a month since he left and Sasuke knew that Naru was more then ready to kick his ass. He grabbed hold of the tonfa, pulled it against his chest and stared into the boy's silver eyes. "You are not strong enough to deal with me, brat."

With those words, Sasuke pulled the tonfa out of the boy's hands and stared at the growling kid. The way the boy growled at him reminded him of the cute little wolves that his daughter loved to watch on T.V. They looked so innocent but that innocence would die away when they grow up. The boy may be stupid to ask for a fight but, one day he would someone terrifying for civilians to deal with. He really did pity anyone who crossed the boy's path.

"I am not a brat," the boy growled, launching himself at him. "And you are breaking the rules, Carnivore. Your identification has not been found by the Namimori database and for that reason alone, you deserved to be bitten to death."

Sasuke grabbed hold of the boy's wrist and slammed the teen against the wall. In the back of his mind, Sasuke knew he had to be gentle with boy but he was tired and irritated at the fact he couldn't go back home faster. Why the hell did he agree to go to Namimori? Oh yes, he agreed to give Iemitsu's present to his son, which he had done as soon as he got here. It was a good thing the house was empty because Sasuke doubt he would have the patience to deal with Iemitsu's wife.

"You know you should not fight people who are stronger then you, brat," Sasuke hissed, flashing his sharingan at him. "You are lucky you are dealing with me brat because if you were facing anyone else, you will be dead. Now you are going to pretend I wasn't here and go back to doing whatever kids like you do."

With those words, Sasuke let go of the boy's wrist and watched as the boy started to head the opposite direction. Why the hell must he always be in this situation? He shook his head and pulled out his airplane tickets and family photo from his pockets. At least the boy was gone and if Sasuke was lucky he would never ever have to see such an annoying brat ever again. He rubbed his forehead and glanced at the photo of his family. He was never ever going to complain about Ryo ever again. His son was at least smart enough to know when not to fight with someone stronger then him.

He really did pity the boy's guardian.

Though Sasuke felt more sorry for himself because he knew Naru was going to give him an earful for being late. He sighed. Maybe the news about Tsuna's family would cheer her up a bit because god knew, he didn't want to deal with a depressed Naru.

If that didn't work then telling her that Tsuna and her were cousins would make her happy...and hopefully, it would be enough for him not to sleep on the uncomfortable couch.

* * *

A/N: Please review and tell me what you think.


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